The Yorkshire Cup is the headline act on Friday at York, before the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on Saturday; Alex Hammond opts for one from the in-form William Haggas yard as her selection in the race
Thursday 18 May 2023 13:06, UK
Sky Sports Racing's Alex Hammond is back with her Lockinge Stakes selection ahead the Newbury Group One feature on Saturday!
On Friday at York, the Yorkshire Cup is the feature and this division is ripe for a new star. Stradivarius is now fully settled at stud and Trueshan has to prove he's the force of old and with Kyprios on the sidelines, there's a vacancy waiting to be filled.
Trainer Hughie Morrison feels that Quickthorn hasn't been recognised for his dominating performance when he slammed the opposition in the Lonsdale at this track in August.
He beat Coltrane by 14 lengths that day having charged off in front and never saw another rival. It wasn't just a wide margin win; the winning time was impressive too. Coltrane came out and won the Sagaro at Ascot on his seasonal return, so the form is good.
On Saturday the show rolls on to Newbury for the Lockinge Stakes. There's a very healthy entry for the one-mile Group 1 with Modern Games one of the leading contenders.
His highest profile wins have come abroad with Group/Grade 1 wins coming in France, Canada and the US (two Breeders' Cup wins) and he seems to operate on a different level away from the UK.
Laurel is a lightly raced filly of the Gosden's. It'll be interesting to see if she is pitched in here after a comfortable all-weather win in listed company at Kempton last time out.
My Prospero missed a good opportunity at Ascot when he was taken out on account of a bad scope. This is tougher but his neck third to Coroebus in last year's St. James's Palace Stakes is top drawer.
Mutasaabeq won at his beloved Newmarket on his return this season. Trainer Charlie Hills has had to take his time with this horse in order for him to mentally mature and he has improved for blinkers the last twice.
If Andre Fabre brings Tribalist over then we'll sit up and take notice. He doesn't miss often with his UK runners, although you have to go back to 2020 for his last turf winner here, albeit from a very small sample size.
The horse has won well on both starts this season in France in a lower grade.
Jadoomi is intriguing. We haven't seen him since he finished lame in the QEII Stakes at Ascot in October. Prior to that, it looked like a gelding operation had helped concentrate his mind and he was going from strength to strength. He wouldn't want the ground to dry out too much though.
I'm hoping that William Haggas has got My Prospero back in tip top form and at 4/1 with Sky Bet, he's my selection.
