Lambourn half-brother helps give Aidan O'Brien stablemate major juvenile form boost

Big form boosts for O'Brien juvenile

The 7f maiden run at the Curragh on July 19 was won by two top Aidan O’Brien juveniles in the last two years – Henry Longfellow and The Lion In Winter – and the form of this year’s winner New Zealand received a significant boost on Saturday.

Isaac Newton and Action, the second and third from that race who are also trained by O'Brien, won maidens of their own within seven minutes of each other at Goodwood and Galway.

Both were odds-on, but all they could do was win and they look like proper stayers in the making for next season. Camelot colt Isaac Newton had more in hand than the neck winning margin suggests at Goodwood, while as a half-brother to Lambourn, Action will surely keep improving as he is upped in trip.

Frankel colt New Zealand has a bit more speed in his pedigree being out of an Albany winner, so could be more immediately suited by some of the top juvenile races to come in the late summer and autumn.
Sam Hendry

Plenty of positives for Newland and Insole at Goodwood

There were multiple reasons to celebrate for the training partnership of Richard Newland and Jamie Insole last week.

Witness Stand provided them with their biggest Flat success when landing the Lennox under Hollie Doyle on Tuesday, defying 25-1 odds and taking his course form figures to 6121.

Great Blasket’s victory at Sandown the following evening was also significant as it brought up 100 winners for Newland and Insole since they saddled their first runners in December 2023.

The Urloxhey stable’s spread of winners has been almost equal across both codes, and it was not just the performance of Witness Stand that demonstrated they are well capable of mixing it at the big Flat festivals.

Richard Newland (left) and Jamie Insole: brought up 100 winners as a training partnership last weekCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Seven of their nine runners at Glorious Goodwood finished in the first six, including 11-2, 14-1 and 25-1 shots being placed in handicaps. 

Two eyecatchers were Spinning Lizzie, who made up lots of ground from the rear on heavy ground to finish second on her nursery debut, and the in-form Knights Gold, who was repeatedly denied a clear run when third in a mile handicap.

Newland and Insole started last week with Special Dividend defying a penalty at Southwell to go 2-2 and the Acomb at York could be next. There is plenty to look forward to for this burgeoning operation.
Jack Haynes

The secret is out

James Doyle had it all to do turning for home in Thursday's Kincsem Handicap, with Best Secret needing to pass nearly the entire field in order to justify 7-2 favouritism in the day's opening 1m2f contest.

Stuck behind a wall of horses, hopes of victory looked slim with Doyle eventually forced to angle Best Secret wide in order to lay down a challenge. 

Best Secret gets up to win the 1m2f handicap at Goodwood on Thursday Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

What followed next was impressive, with the Wathnan-owned French raider slowly but surely building momentum before a thundering finish saw him reel in Marhaba Ghaiyyath and William Buick to win on the line.

Best Secret made light work of a 5lb rise for finishing third in the Golden Gates Stakes at Royal Ascot last time and his victory was Deauville-based trainer Stephane Wattel's first turf success in Britain – and the only win of an unusually quiet week for his powerhouse owners. 

His emphatic finish from the rear to seal an improbable victory suggests Best Secret is a Group horse in the making and is one to keep an eye on – the secret is out.
Patrick Madden

Read more from The Last Word:

A busy weekend for stewards around the world - and an upsetting one for retained jockeys 

Bookies have overreacted to the defeat of a Juddmonte International contender - and it's not Field Of Gold 

Strong rating for easy winner Two Tribes suggests above-average running of Stewards' Cup - beaten favourite still of big interest 

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