'She worked really well this week' - Woodhay Wonder in great shape ahead of bid for a third success on the Rowley Mile

Woodhay Wonder (left) and Garfield Shadow (right)

This race deserved a promotion, so that is the spirit in which its move is taken. This race used to be run on Newmarket's Saturday card and is now the feature on the Sunday card, which has Premier status.

The main reason it deserved to be recognised is because its last two winners, Quinault and Harry Three, both went on to win the £100,000 charity sprint at York in June on their next outing.

As a kicker, Quinault beat Washington Heights in both races. The winner in 2021 was pretty handy, too. Admittedly, Jumby needed seven furlongs to really flourish, but that he did with multiple Group-race wins.

The brief is thus to look for young sprinters with near-enough Group-race potential. High on that list would be Jehangeer and Warm Spell. Both were cast into Pattern races last season with little experience. Jehangeer did the better of them when third in York's Rockingham Stakes and has the potential for more to come.

There are a couple further down the weights who also have clear routes pointing upwards. The unbeaten Garfield Shadow is an obvious one. He was a big price on his reappearance at Chester last week, although part of that might have been down to a wide draw. Once he missed the break, David Nolan was forced into taking the high-risk route down the inside. The gaps came and Garfield Shadow won.

Also look at Completely Random. He only started racing after the 2023 turf season ended, but built up quickly in all-weather novices, winning on December 27. He had a torrid time early on at Newmarket at the Guineas meeting and seemed taken aback on hitting the Dip. Even so, he made eyecatching headway. If this course grows on him following that experience, he can make an impact even in a traditionally red-hot handicap.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

Going news

Andrew Morris, Newmarket clerk of the course, said after racing on Saturday: "We're expected to be dry overnight and Sunday is forecast to be the same as today, cloudy in the morning and sunny in the afternoon. We're good at the moment but I'd expect it to be good to firm come post-time."

What they say

George Scott, trainer of Watch My Tracer
He made a pleasing start to his three-year-old campaign when winning at Lingfield, but was then all at sea on the soft ground at Newbury. He has to carry a big weight, but has earned his rating. The ground is the most important thing as far as he is concerned. It should be really fast ground by Sunday afternoon and we’ve had this race in mind for a while.

Tom Ward, trainer of Woodhay Wonder
She has a lovely affinity with Newmarket [has won her last two races on the Rowley Mile] and we’ve been keen to wait for this race. She worked really well this week and hopefully she can run another nice race. It’s a competitive event, but I still feel we’re playing with something in terms of her handicap mark.

Harry Charlton, trainer of Completely Random
He’s coming back quicker than we ideally wanted after his reappearance at Newmarket a fortnight ago. We feel he should handle the experience better than he did that day – the occasion caught him out a bit. He should be more streetwise on Sunday.

Chris Dwyer, trainer of Jimmy Speaking
I’m happy with him and he seems to be improving. Good ground will be fine, but if it went on the firm side I’d say he’d be a doubtful runner. He’s a good-moving horse and I’d hate to risk him on firm ground. We’re putting cheekpieces on for the first time as they might help him concentrate a bit more. He’s still babyish and a little green.
Reporting by Richard Birch

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