Newmarket Gold Season here to stay as racecourse forges local links

A huge four weeks for Newmarket, starting with the Henry Cecil Open Weekend and culminating in the Dubai Dewhurst Stakes – which is set to feature racing's newest superstar Pinatubo – has been renamed the 'Newmarket Gold Season'.

Officials at the course hope the rebrand will put to bed any uncertainty over the schedule which was brought about by Champions Day moving to Ascot in 2011.

The greater clarity is expected to be of benefit during a hugely important period for the town, with Five Group 1s taking place on the track and future stars sold off it during the Tattersalls October Yearling Sales.

Champion trainer John Gosden, fully backing the plan, said: "The Gold Season is a busy time in Newmarket with masses of visitors for the racing and the sales. I welcome the consolidation of the racing programme and it's a massive magnet worldwide.

"Whilst people are here they can go to Palace House and go on a tour with Discover Newmarket and visit Book 1 of the sales. Together with Book 2 and 3 these sales contain horses that may well be running during the Gold Season in 2020."

Historic races such as the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch are run during the Gold Season, but there is a heavy emphasis on stars of the future through races such as the Middle Park, Cheveley Park and Dewhurst.

The 2018 Dewhurst Stakes was won by last year's champion juvenile Too Darn Hot and this season's contest also looks set to feature the outstanding colt of his generation, Pinatubo.

Gosden, not especially keen on taking on Charlie Appleby's monster, said: "If Pinatubo turns up in the Dewhurst he might well terrify people and I could see it being a small field. We have Palace Pier entered in it who runs at Sandown tomorrow and provided that goes to plan he's a possible although we might just run away to a Group 1 on Arc weekend instead."

The entries for the Kingdom of Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes and the Group 1 bet365 Fillies' Mile were revealed at the press launch at Tattersalls in Newmarket on Tuesday, and Gosden added: "We have Twist' N 'Shake in the Sun Chariot on October 5, which is a nice race to go for with the fillies and she may well line up as she was a bit unlucky.

"We have a couple of entries in the Fillies' Mile, including Anastarsia who was a bit green on her debut at Ascot recently but should improve on that."

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