CROWNED leading trainer at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, Ralph Beckett had a productive week on the Sussex Downs with three winners and three seconds from his 17 runners.

Stable stalwart Kinross set the ball rolling on the opening afternoon when reclaiming his Group 2 Lennox Stakes crown following his luckless defeat 12 months earlier.

The six-year-old was registering his ninth pattern race success and took his total earnings to £1,304,573 in the process. Expect the Kingman gelding to further swell Frankie Dettori’s retirement kitty throughout the autumn.

Beckett, who worked alongside the likes of John Quinn and Ger Lyons while learning his trade from the legendary Jimmy FitzGerald in Malton, also introduced two highly promising juveniles during the first week of August.

Classical Song was purchased by leading bloodstock agent Alex Elliott on behalf of Michael Tabor’s other half, Doreen, for a cool €420,000 at the Arqana Breeze-Ups in May and she is a well-bred daughter of Lope De Vega.

A half-sister to triple Group 1 and Old Newton Cup winner Dylan Mouth, she lined up in the seven-furlong fillies’ maiden on day three of the Qatar sponsored Festival, by which time the rain had well and truly settled in and ensured the ground was very much on the slow side.

Contesting an event which had been won by triple Group 1 winner and dam of Epsom Derby winner Auguste Rodin, namely Rhododendron, in 2016, she shaped with an abundance of promise in second under Ryan Moore.

Having forfeited her low draw after a tardy start, she soon recovered sitting in behind the leaders. Tapped for toe when the more experienced winner Ornellaia, who had previously chased home the subsequent Group 3 winner Sacred Angel on her debut, set sail for home, Classical Song came home strongly covering the last furlong quicker than anything else in the field in 13.62 seconds.

Both the winner and third had the benefit of a run beforehand and she will be more streetwise next time.

Middle distances next year will be when we see Classical Song at her best. In the short-term, going one better ought to prove a formality.

Newmarket

Twenty-four hours after Classical Song had set foot on a racecourse, Ralph Beckett recorded his 13th two-year-old winner of 2023 with the potentially smart King’s Gamble at Newmarket.

Owned by Clipper Logistics and ridden by retain rider Danny Tudhope, the son of Kingman looked every inch a pattern performer in the making as he despatched his half a dozen opponents by upwards of a length and three quarters in the six-furlong novice stakes.

The race has been contested by group winners Alflaila (2021) and Noble Style (2022) in recent times and his connections are already thinking in terms of a rise in class on his next start.

Indeed, I contacted racing manager Joe Foley soon afterwards and a trip to the Doncaster St Leger fixture appears to be on the cards in either the Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes (September 15th) or the Group 2 Champagne Stakes the following day.

A 190,000gns purchase, he moved smoothly throughout before breezing to the front with over a furlong to run – he covered the fifth furlong in 10.96 seconds.

Hitting the rising ground, King’s Gamble sauntered clear without Tudhope getting too vigorous. An extra furlong on Town Moor will be even more to his liking and he is very much one to follow.

GOODWOOD week wasn’t a bad one for William Haggas either with two winners, two seconds and two thirds from 14 runners.

Desert Hero and Hamish returned Group 3 prizes to Somerville Lodge and the Newmarket trainer sent out an across the card double at the ‘away’ fixtures last Saturday.

Lord Bertie made a welcome return to action at Thirsk following an absence of 368 days. Owned by Fiona Carmichael, the son of Wootton Bassett hadn’t been sighted in public since winning a seven and a half furlongs novice at Ffos Las in August last year. His juvenile campaign was then cut short having fractured his knee and he was subsequently gelded.

Third behind the 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean on his racecourse bow at Newbury, he tackled a mile for the first time at the North Yorkshire venue and never gave odds-on backers a moment’s concern.

Drawn in stall 2, he made all the running and, having been steered towards the stands’ rail in the home straight, the Haggas trained runner bounded clear to win hard held by 12 lengths under his penalty.

Out of a mare who was listed placed over a mile and a half, Lord Bertie is bred to stay further than a mile and, having been allocated an opening mark of 95, he becomes an interesting proposition for the valuable three-year-old handicaps during the autumn.

Yet to encounter ground quicker than good, that is unlikely to be a concern to connections during the final months of the season.

THREE-year-old maidens or novice events at this time of year onwards are widely regarded as being contested by either disappointing horses who are still searching for their first win or those whose training schedule has been delayed by an injury or hold up earlier in the season.

The roll of honour for the mile fillies’ novice stakes on the July course at Newmarket in early August features subsequent listed winners My Astra (2021) and Laurel (2022) and, while it remains to be seen whether the 2023 edition will prove up to scratch, I would be inclined to take a positive view regarding the performances of the second and fifth, namely Doom and Imperial Quarter.

Similar to her stablemate Lord Bertie, Doom was making her belated seasonal return – off 287 days – and that lack of a recent run arguably proved her undoing.

A beautifully-bred filly by Dubawi out of Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf winner Dank, William Haggas’ filly earned a rating of 82 having raced three times last year.

Beaten a head by the Epsom Oaks winner Soul Sister at Doncaster last backend, she was well supported at her local track and found herself in front from the outset. Racing enthusiastically early on, Adam Farragher’s mount still looked in control approaching the furlong marker.

However, the alarm bells began to ring as the Haggas filly came off a straight line and she was worn down late on by the Godolphin filly Whispering Words.

That tendency to over race in the first couple of furlongs cost her dear but with the freshness out of her system, she is a potentially well handicapped filly who could go through the ranks.

Backstory

Imperial Quarter was seeing a racecourse for the first time and arrived with an interesting backstory.

Another filly by Dubawi, Roger Varian’s runner is a half-sister to the stable’s Group 1 Prix Vermeille winner Teona and, having been in training as a two-year-old at Carlburg Stables, she made the short journey along the Bury Road and Fordham Road to join William Haggas for her three-year-old career.

Entered in the Epsom Oaks in the early part of the year, she then returned to Varian in June and finally made her track debut this month.

Fitted with a hood and racing over a trip which is likely to prove on the short side, Imperial Quarter was soon in rear and given an educational ride. She made stealthy late headway though and was making up ground hand over fist in the closing stages.

Two and a quarter-lengths behind Charlie Appleby’s winner, she has made an encouraging start and is ready to make up for lost time. While she evidently hasn’t been easy to handle, the raw talent is undoubtedly there.