Advertisement

Talking Horses: Defoe for Coronation repeat as ITV4 shows seven races

<span>Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse</span>
Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse

Which version of Ghaiyyath will we see at Newmarket, where the wandering Coronation Cup has turned up as part of a thrilling seven-race programme on ITV4? There is a huge variance in the Godolphin runners efforts and it is to be hoped he will not be granted a soft lead in such a hot contest, since that appears to be what he desperately needs.

Stradivarius is my idea of the best animal in the line-up but the Gold Cup in two weeks’ time is surely his target and it is easy to doubt him over this shorter trip. Defoe (3.35), a winner over this course and distance as well as in last year’s Coronation Cup winner when it was at Epsom, appeals most at 4-1. The grey just needed another yard when powering home at Meydan in March and is reported to have improved “a few lengths” since then.

1.50 Newmarket Andrea Atzeni gets his first ride on Swindler, a good-looking sprinter who won two from three last year and hinted at much more to come. He should relish this fast surface.

2.05 Lingfield Thanks to Simon Rowlands, we know just how hot Andrew Balding has been this week; his 14 runners have beaten 81% of their collective rivals. His Grove Ferry looks most promising of this unexposed field.

2.25 Newmarket Oxted is the progressive one but a stiff six furlongs might be as far as he wants to go, especially on his first run for nine months. From a stable that started resumption week strongly, Brando looks the solid option as he seeks a third Abernant win.

2.40 Lingfield The purple-bred Lake Lucerne was soaring in the right direction when last seen in March and the extra month to prepare for this race looks very much in her favour. She can improve past her stablemate, Miss Yoda, and land the Oaks Trial, won by her trainer in two of the past three years.

3.00 Newmarket It seems connections of Sangarius don’t want to risk him on this fast surface, so Vale Of Kent may be the best option. Some of these are going to need this first run but Mark Johnston’s runner should be straight enough and relishes quick ground.

3.15 Lingfield Balding’s Berkshire Rocco was still a work in progress when behind Miss Yoda in October. The chestnut should relish every yard of this and the sounder surface may also be good news.

Newmarket 1.15 Final Offer 1.50 Swindler 2.25 Brando 3.00 Sangarius (nap) 3.35 Defoe 4.10 Edinburgh Castle 4.45 Renaissance Queen 5.20 Zoohoor 5.55 Gunmetal 6.30 Spirit Of May

Lingfield 12.55 Mighty Gurkha 1.30 Cotopaxi 2.05 Grove Ferry 2.40 Lake Lucerne (nb) 3.15 Berkshire Rocco 3.50 Natty Night 4.25 Muraahin 5.00 Badayel 5.35 Pop Dancer

Burst window scare during Thursday action

A chemical reaction within a pane of toughened glass is the suspected cause of a bizarre accident as horse racing returned to Newmarket. Seats in the grandstand were showered with glass shards when the pane burst suddenly about half an hour before the first race on Thursday.

Shocked officials were left counting their blessings that the sport is currently obliged to take place behind closed doors, as the area on to which the glass fell would be busy with spectators at that stage on a normal raceday. Instead, no one was hurt and the action continued at the track, known as the headquarters of Flat racing, while specialists were called to the site to find an explanation.

“We need to do some more investigatory work but the initial thinking is that it could have been a chemical reaction, causing the glass to combust,” said Amy Starkey, who manages Newmarket for its owners, the Jockey Club. “Works to the other panels in the structure may be required. In the meantime, no one needs to have access to that area while we are racing behind closed doors.”

Related: Talking Horses: Royal Ascot prize fund for 2020 slashed by 50%

Starkey and her colleagues will be hoping for a smoother run, starting with the Coronation Cup. That race’s presence on this card is another reminder of the changes forced by coronavirus, as it would normally be part of the Derby meeting at Epsom.

Among those having to adapt to unusual circumstances is Ryan Moore who, as first jockey to Aidan O’Brien. Instead, travel restrictions mean there have been no visits to the Ballydoyle stable, the jockey will remain in Britain for the foreseeable future and O’Brien will not be present in Newmarket to give any last-minute advice in the paddock before Anthony Van Dyck lines up in the Coronation Cup.

An area of level two seating is left covered in broken glass after a window fell from the floor above.
An area of level two seating is left covered in broken glass after a window fell from the floor above. Photograph: Reuters

Moore was unfazed as he discussed the situation on Thursday night. “All that stuff changes from year to year,” he said. “There’s been plenty of years when I haven’t sat on horses before I’ve ridden them in big races for Aidan.

“Anthony’s a lovely horse, obviously, he’s a Derby winner. He won the Lingfield Derby Trial, so he started well last year. Hopefully he can come back in the sort of shape he was in at this time last year.”