Jockey Club Stakes (Group 2)

THE Group 2 Jockey Club Stakes was the feature at Newmarket on Friday and the race saw former St Leger and Irish Derby winner Hurricane Lane (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) back to form with an impressive six-length win over market leader West Wind Blows (Simon & Ed Crisford/Jamie Spencer).

The 2/1 shot put memories of his reappearance flop on heavy ground behind him in this romp, taking over three furlongs from home from stablemate Global Storm, and he had the race in safe keeping at the furlong pole having quickened into a decisive lead as the others were treading water. West Wind Blows couldn’t match the winner at all but plugged on to grab second by a nose.

Bet365 Mile

Mutasaabeq (Charlie Hills/Jim Crowley) has threatened to be an underachiever in his career, beaten as he was on his first seven tries in Group company despite showing plenty of raw talent, but he’s been a revelation tried in blinkers the last twice, and it may be that the application of the ‘blinds’ could see him make up into a proper Group 1 performer, as his brilliant dam Ghanaati was.

An all-the-way winner of the Joel Stakes here in first-time headgear last autumn, he proved that was no fluke by defying a penalty against Native Trail (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) in style in the Group 2 Bet365 Mile (rescheduled from Sandown last week). Again setting out to make all, he was always in control, and had no trouble giving last season’s 2000 Guineas runner-up 3lb and a comfortable three-length beating on ground changed to good by overnight watering and light rain. Light Infantry ran to be third, a short-head behind the runner-up. The card started with the Listed Newmarket Stakes over mile and a quarter, a race often viewed as a Derby Trial.

The latest renewal was dominated by 7/1 chance Castle Way (Charlie Appleby/William Buick), who was always in the front rank, and hit the front at halfway to win by a length and three quarters from the promising Circle Of Fire (Sir Michael Stoute/Ryan Moore).

The winner and second are both sons of Almanzor and both have a future, although the winning trainer ruled Castle Way out of the Derby, as the big colt was tried at Epsom in the autumn and failed to handle the track.

The King Charles II Stakes, a seven-furlong listed event for three-year-olds, went to 3/1 second-favourite Shouldvebeenaring (Richard Hannon/Sean Levey), who had run a race full of promise in a six-furlong handicap at the Craven Meeting when carrying a big weight. Up in class here, he was again held up before putting in a strong finish on the far side of the track to score by three-parts of a length from Benacre (Charlie Johnston/James Doyle). The three-year-old fillies’ maiden went to Sir Michael Stoute’s Sea The Stars filly Infinite Cosmos who was promoted to Oaks favouritism by some firms.