Newmarket Saturday

Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes (Group 1)

VANDEEK (Simon and Ed Crisford/James Doyle) looked a top-class performer when beating Ramatuelle and River Tiber in the Group 1 Prix Morny at Deauville and marked himself down as the pick of the sprinting juveniles when confirming the Morny form with River Tiber (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket last Saturday, the pair split by Task Force (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan), with the margins two and a quarter lengths and a head.

In scoring here, Vandeek became the fifth Prix Morny winner since 2018 to follow up in the Middle Park.

Vandeek was held up on the fastest ground he’s experienced (although the ground was just on the slow side of good at Deauville despite a typically misleading description) and tracked a quartet of runners – including the placed horses - on the stands’ side of the track when the field split as is often the case on the Rowley Mile.

When Doyle asked for an effort with two furlongs to run, Vandeek, a son of Havana Grey, quickened smartly between Givemethebeatboys and River Tiber, and he impressed with the manner in which he quickened ahead of those rivals.

Task Force failed to quicken with the winner but stayed on strongly when meeting rising ground to grab second and looks sure to be suited by an extra furlong, while River Tiber ran up to his previous best having held every chance.

Special

“We came here pretty confident - we knew we had something special,” said Simon Crisford. He’s been working exceptionally well, and he’s been such a kind horse to go with it, everything was great.

“When he hits the front, he does tend to idle a bit, but I couldn’t see anything running him down, so I was pretty hopeful in the last 100 yards.

“He is one of the best two-year-olds in the world and has never let us down.

“When you come with an unbeaten Group 1 winner into another championship race you always want to deliver, and it was very important we saw him at his best today.

Crisford later confirmed that Vandeek would not step up in trip for the Dewhurst Stakes and will now be put away for the winter, with the Commonwealth Cup rather than the 2000 Guineas pencilled in as his primary target in the first half of next season.

Task Force was also considered a doubtful runner in the Dewhurst by Ralph Beckett, who feels the son of Frankel and 1000 Guineas heroine Special Duty learnt plenty from his first attempt in pattern company, and would likely be aimed at the 2000 Guineas, possibly without another run.

Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes (Group 1)

PORTA Fortuna (Donnacha O’Brien/Oisin Murphy) belatedly built on her Royal Ascot success to run out a decisive winner of the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes.

The 9/2 chance raced prominently in the centre as the field fanned out across the track and she showed smart acceleration to go clear a furlong out and kept on well to hold the late effort of Pearls And Rubies (Aidan O’Brien/Pat Dobbs) by a length and a half, with early leader Sacred Angel (Charlie Johnston/James Doyle) keeping on for third, a further head away.

Her winning time was 0.1 sec quicker than the Middle Park, which encourages a positive view of the form.

The race was weakened by the absence of Lowther winner Relief Rally, but there are sound reasons to believe that the form is strong, with the return to fast turf a big help to the winning daughter of Caravaggio, and the third having finished an excellent fourth behind Vandeek in the Prix Morny.

Pearls And Rubies caught the eye coming from much further back than the pair she split, and she can be expected to do better still when back to seven furlongs given she was runner-up in the Chesham at Royal Ascot.

Smart filly

“She is a smart filly,” said the winning handler of the filly who runs for a partnership of Medallion/Weston/Fowler and Reeves Thoroughbreds. “That is the first time she has had proper quick ground since Ascot, and she seems to be a lot better on it back to six. I think she is fine at seven, but she seems to be a lot better on better ground as she travels and quickens.

“Her performance in the Albany was probably one of the best performances of any filly and then she has run a little bit below par on slow ground on her last two runs and that is why she was a bit bigger in the betting, but thankfully she came back to her form today.

“She is owned by an American syndicate and the plan was to go to the Breeders’ Cup at the end of the year if that was how it turned out, so that is what we will do.

“There is a lot of water to go under the bridge between now and then, but I suppose we would start her off in a trial over seven and make a decision then whether we go sprinting or go for the Guineas.”

Ghostwriter fuels Derby dreams for Clive Cox

GHOSTWRITER (Clive Cox/Richard Kingscote) took the step up to Group 2 company in his stride when landing the Royal Lodge at odds of 10/3, beating Al Musmak (Roger Varian/David Egan) and Capulet (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore).

The son of Invincible Spirit was impressive when scoring at Ascot on his second start, and again looked a top-class prospect by winning by a length and a quarter and half a length from the promising pair who filled the places.

An imposing sort, Ghostwriter travelled well and moved up stylishly to challenge a quarter of a mile out, with his rider sending him on at the furlong pole for a comfortable win which conjured thoughts of a Derby challenge next year.

Cox said: “That was very special, and I’m so thrilled for Jeff [Smith, owner]. He has been improving with every run and that was a big step to take. I couldn’t be more pleased with the way he has carried it out and he looks full of promise going forward.

“The dam won over a mile and a half, and I think he has a very good middle-distance plan to go forwards with.

“He has always been a nice horse, but he has always been maturing and having a frame to fill while keeping his strength moving forwards. This cements what we thought so far, and the dream is very much alive for next year.

“I’d say the way he is physically developing all the time means I’d probably be thinking about next year [rather than running in the Futurity at Doncaster].

I’m just thrilled with what he has done today, and we can discuss that through the winter and make plans accordingly.”

CHESTER’S Saturday card was typically overshadowed by Newmarket, but it did see one remarkable performance, with Sparks Fly looking better than ever in gaining a seventh handicap win of the season for Dave Loughnane.

She won the first of those races off a mark of 59 and was raised 5lb by the official assessor to a new high of 103 after beating Millebosc by a neck under regular pilot Laura Pearson.

Rarely a week goes by without John McConnell registering a British winner, and this week it was the turn of Hypersonic Missile to get on the scoresheet, with the son of Califet winning the bumper at Sedgefield on Tuesday under Ben Harvey.