Do jockey bookings tell us Murphy may work his magic on Godolphin filly?

Friday: 3.30 Newbury
Dubai Duty Free Cup Stakes (Listed) | 7f | 3yo+ | RTV

Godolphin runners dominate the market for this Listed event but unravelling which of their three contenders may come out on top doesn’t look easy.

William Buick appears to have had the choice of the Charlie Appleby-trained pair. He has ridden D’bai on three of his last six starts but partners Haydock winner Al Suhail instead.

Buick knows Al Suhail even better than D’bai, having been on him for three wins, a second and a third from six appearances, and that includes his impressive victory at Haydock 15 days ago.

Al Suhail achieved a Racing Post Rating of 111, but that is 1lb lower than D’bai (James Doyle's mount) recorded for his second in the Park Stakes at Doncaster last week, so the pair are closely matched on form.

Furthermore, Al Suhail has achieved his three wins in single-figure fields and 15 line up here.

Oisin Murphy: worth noting when he rides for Saeed bin SuroorCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Buick wouldn’t have had the choice to ride the other Godolphin runner, Silent Escape. She represents Saeed bin Suroor and is partnered by champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who steered her to an stylish success in a 7f handicap at Sandown last month on just her fourth outing.

Murphy has ridden more winners and had more rides (58-209) for Bin Suroor than any other jockey in Britain in the last five seasons and could probably have taken the mount on regular partner Matthew Flinders had he wanted. Maybe his presence on Silent Escape is significant.

The other jockey booking to note is Rob Hornby on the Ralph Beckett-trained Tomfre. The pair are having a great year and a £1 bet on all of their runners in 2021 has yielded a £8.49 profit.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Clive Cox, trainer of River Nymph
He really impressed me when he won the Victoria Cup and had a mid-season break with the thought of getting some easier ground in the autumn. He's performed at a high level in handicaps and I hope he can take a positive step forward in Listed company. He's a worthy candidate.

Owen Burrows: Albasheer's trainerCredit: Edward Whitaker

Owen Burrows, trainer of Albasheer
I was happy enough with his comeback run at Salisbury. Six furlongs was probably on the sharp side for him but he just got tired and was caught on the line. He's pretty inexperienced, but we've always liked him and he'll get better with racing. He's come forward in his work at home and I'm hopeful of a good run.

Roger Varian, trainer of Baradar
He'll appreciate the forecast good-to-soft ground, but he's got to get his season back on track. He's drawn on the wide outside in 15, which isn't ideal but hopefully he can give us something to build on for the rest of the autumn, as we haven't been satisfied with his season so far.

William Haggas, trainer of With Thanks
She needs softer ground, but she needs to run. I doubt it'll be soft enough for her, but they had some rain on Tuesday so we can only hope.
Reporting by Matt Rennie

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