Wednesday

STAR of the show at a sparsely attended Newmarket this week was the ante-post 2000 Guineas favourite Native Trail, and the imposing colt, who looked to have done well over the winter, maintained his unbeaten record with an ultimately easy victory in the Craven Stakes, despite again showing his tendency to race behind the bridle.

The National Stakes and Dewhurst winner in an unbeaten juvenile campaign, Native Trail was sent off at 1/4 for this return, and while he typically traded much bigger in running, his layers must surely learn a lesson that it’s the winning post that counts.

Despite taking time to hit full stride, he was three and a half lengths to the good of Claymore (Jane Chapple-Hyam/Adam Kirby) at the line, and was full value for that margin.

William Buick knows the colt well, and his niggling at halfway is merely a way of letting the laid-back Native Trail know that he’s in a race, and it was a similar story in the Dewhurst last autumn. Most onlookers were impressed by the style of this win, and while his odds suggested he was entitled to win as well as he did, there have been plenty of champion juveniles who have not progressed as expected at three, and bookmakers were perfectly entitled to trim his odds for the first colts’ classic.

Not perturbed

Charlie Appleby was certainly not perturbed by any apparent laziness, and said: “Watching the race, I was happy throughout. Even when he came under the pump, although everyone in the stands was thinking he was under pressure, we know this horse.

“When he won the National Stakes, he was under the pump and then Will gave him a smack he picked up and he did in the Dewhurst as well - everyone thinks he’s in trouble and then he hits the rising ground.

“What I love about this horse is he does it all the right way round. He’s not one of those free travellers and you wonder what they’re going to find - you know when this horse gets into a battle and hits that rising ground, he’s going to keep finding all the way to the line.”

THE Group 3 Abernant Stakes served up a fine finish, with Chris Wall’s mare Double Or Bubble rallying gamely to regain the lead on the line having been headed inside the final 100 yards by Garrus (Charlie Hills/Ryan Moore). She was well supported, and returned at 7/2 joint-second favourite behind the weak 100/30 market leader Ebro River.

The full-sister to connections’ Group 3 winner Mix And Mingle, Double Or Bubble has a fine record fresh, and she looked set to win when moving smoothly to the front over a furlong out, only for Ryan Moore to get a strong run out of Garrus, who traded 1.06 in running. He certainly hit the front for a few strides, but the mare responded immediately when joined, and wrested back the advantage in the dying strides to win by a short head.

Winning handler, Chris Wall, saddling his first winner since October, suggested that underfoot conditions could be key as to where she goes next: “We’ve had a winter off and been old school. We turned the horses out and lots had a winter break. She has done very well and matured well again. She is five now, but she has strengthened further from where we were with her last year. She has always been a narrow leggy filly, but she has put a bit more on.That’s a good start and it was always the plan to keep her in training. She has got plenty of speed for six and we know she stays seven. As long as we have a sound surface, that is what she likes. We’ve got a nice conundrum about what we might do next.”

Asked if his mare would get an entry in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, he replied: “It is a possibility. I think that closes next week but we will pop her in it. If it is fast ground, she would be a player, and it would be interesting to see how she stands against the better ones.”

Thursday

NEWMARKET’S Thursday card was the weakest of the three in terms of quality, but it was lovely to see Ted Durcan and wife Sue sponsor a race in memory of Pat Smullen, with Pat’s widow Frances making the presentation.

She was joined on the podium by many of the jockeys who would have ridden alongside her late husband, a spontaneous gesture, and one which clearly touched her.

There was a shock result in the nine-furlong Feilden Stakes, as 22/1 shot Eydon (Roger Varian/David Egan) breezed past toiling rivals to post an impressive win, despite arriving for the contest a maiden after defeats in a pair of novice events at Newcastle over the winter.

Strong

The listed contest looked strong on paper, and it’s not surprising that Eydon was friendless in the market, having failed to justify short odds in Class 5 company on his previous outing. He made that defeat look all the more confusing by producing a deeply impressive performance to beat Superlative Stakes runner-up Masekela by three and a quarter lengths.

The early pace was slow, and several of the runners failed to settle, but Egan was happy to sit chilly on Eydon, who relaxed notably well in rear before moving smoothly up on the far side of the field to hit the front two furlongs out, and without his rider having to get too serious, he was soon clear. The way the race was run means it’s hard to put a big figure on this performance, but visually it was striking, and Eydon appears a fascinating new contender in the classic picture.

Trainer Roger Varian gave credit to owner Prince Faisal for running the colt here rather than in a maiden or novice, and in a neat parallel, the winner’s sire also won this race when a maiden back in 2001.

Plans

Eydon is entered in the 2000 Guineas, Dante Stakes and Derby, but the winning trainer was not willing to commit to future plans in a typically coy interview, saying only: “I won’t make any decisions without speaking to the Prince. We will see how he comes out of the race but he is well entered up. The way he won here, he would justify an ambitious plan and is something to look forward to I think.”