Nyaleti 'the one to beat' as trainers give the lowdown on a red-hot contest

3.00 Newmarket
Shadwell Rockfel Stakes | Gr 2 | 7f | 2yo fillies | ITV4/RUK

With the Juddmonte-backed Group 1 Cheveley Park and Middle Park Stakes, Saturday will deliver a feast of top two-year-old action at Newmarket – and a cracking Betfred Cambridgeshire adds more than a little ballast.

But Friday's racing kicks off a thrilling weekend of spectacular action in front of the ITV cameras with a pair of juvenile Group 2 contests taking centre stage.

While ITV will also deliver a huge Sunday treat by screening the Qatar Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, the highlight of its opening day coverage is a bang-up-to-scratch Shadwell Rockfel Stakes, a contest Speciosa and Finsceal Beo won in 2005 and 2006 before graduating to Classic glory in the 1,000 Guineas a season later.

Chief among the contenders for next year's Classics appear to be unbeaten Gavota and Lightening Quick, although connections of Nyaleti, the best filly in the field according to Racing Post Ratings, insist she is the one to beat.

The supplementary entry of Lightening Quick, whose trainer Ger Lyons won Saturday's Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes with her dam Lightening Pearl in 2011, also makes the Rockfel the feature in financial terms too.

Pride without prejudice

Between the jockey victories of Richard and Michael and training successes of Barry and Charlie, the Hills family have 11 Rockfel wins between them.

Elizabeth Bennet represents Charlie this time round, although the trainer did not want the rain that fell at Newmarket overnight into Thursday morning.

She has won twice on the all-weather, like Hikmaa, who is trained by Hills's great pal Ed Vaughan, keen on securing some black type for the daughter of Roderic O'Connor.

What they say

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Butterscotch
She's had a break since her last run and is well and just ready to start back. She's going seven furlongs for the first time and we're hoping she'll stay.

Charlie Hills, trainer of Elizabeth Bennet
She's won twice on the all-weather and I'm sure she's up to this level, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed that any more rain stays away.

Roger Charlton, trainer of Gavota
Having won twice – her last race well – for Juddmonte Farms it's important to get some black type, particularly as she's by Bated Breath. It's a big step up, but she's in good form. She's won on soft, but I'd have liked to have seen her run on quicker ground – she's a very good-moving filly, so let's hope it dries out.

Ed Vaughan, trainer of Hikmaa
She's in good form, but this is a big step up in class. She'll appreciate the extra furlong, but the easy ground is a concern. She has quite small feet and has a good action, so I'll imagine it will inconvenience her. She only does enough in her work at home and is incredibly laid-back, so we won't really know until we step her up in grade. It's a tough ask, but she's not the biggest filly in the world and I'd like to achieve some black type with her this year. I'll be delighted if she runs into a place.

John Gosden, trainer Juliet Capulet
She ran very well when second on the July course last time and seems to be maturing with her racing, rather than looking at low-flying seagulls as was the case earlier on. She seems more focused now, which is why we've left off the cheekpieces, and she should be competitive.

Ger Lyons, trainer of Lightening Quick
It's very hard to gauge where you are with her as her work has always been average – she only ever does the bare minimum at home. It's a little quirk of the family – her mother [Lightening Pearl] was much the same but it didn't stop her from winning a Group 1. I saw something early on with Lightening Quick to suggest she was good, but she's such an intelligent filly and maybe she's clever enough to know that there is no prize-money on offer on the gallops at home!

She was working just the same before her maiden win, when she produced a devastating run to shoot down the much more experienced Bye Bye Baby, a filly I know the Coolmore team like. If she performs like that again or improves the Rockfel will be the right spot for her. We were initially thinking about the Cheveley Park Stakes, but as she won her maiden over seven furlongs, we decided, with next year's Classics in mind, a drop back to six furlongs would not be in her best interests, so we supplemented for this race instead.

Charlie Johnston, assistant to Mark Johnston, trainer of Nyaleti
We stepped her up in trip to a mile for the May Hill and I think she stayed fine, but back to seven is probably a positive as her best form is over six. We know she'll stay this well and I think this is a good slot for her. There are a couple of less-exposed fillies, but they're going to have to improve to beat her – she's the one to beat.

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