Moore aiming for Magical outcome after Happily hopes hit by high temperature
Ryan Moore need not have agonised over whether to ride Happily or Magical in Friday's bet365 Fillies' Mile. A high temperature has ruled out Happily, who beat the colts in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc day and so Aidan O'Brien's number one jockey has switched to Magical, fourth in the Prix Marcel Boussac the same day.
Moore may not be too disappointed at being forced to switch. He will know that Magical's race at Chantilly was run over a second more quickly than Happily's, while he was denied a run twice at crucial moments in the fillies' race.
Throw in the fact that Newmarket's ground will be much quicker than the pair encountered either in France or when Happily came out on top over Magical in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh on Irish Champions Weekend – and Ballydoyle's number one may find that the substitute provides a Magical ending . . . unless stablemate September spoils her, and Moore's day.
For the latest news on today's action, read The Briefing
Might this be a Group 1 to escape O'Brien's grasp?
Given the extraordinary season the Ballydoyle maestro is putting together, with just two top-level triumphs separating him from Bobby Frankel's record 25, it might be bordering on the heretical to consider the claims of any of the eight fillies that don't have AP O'Brien written next to them on the racecard. But this is a Fillies' Mile bursting with promise.
Karl Burke has enjoyed a terrific run with his two-year-olds since midsummer and Laurens looked a potential Group 1 filly in the making at Doncaster last month.
Freddy Head appears to have a fine crop of juvenile fillies once again and the presence in the line-up of Efaadah – seen bounding up Les Aigles in company with Boussac runner-up Polydream recently – tells you all you need to know about how highly he rates her chances back on a decent surface.
And then there is Magic Lily, the first daughter of Oaks heroine Dancing Rain and a winner by just the eight lengths on debut for Charlie Appleby.
More two-year-old clues on supporting card
James Doyle rides Gavota in the the Oh So Sharp Stakes for his former bosses Roger Charlton and Khalid Abdullah.
Doyle enjoyed his formative years at Beckhampton under the tutelage of Charlton and went on to serve as retained jockey to Abdullah, going down by three-quarters of a length in the 2012 King's Stand Stakes when riding Gavota's sire Bated Breath.
The Cornwallis Stakes – which like the Oh So Sharp and the Challenge Stakes is supported by one of Godolphin's charitable foundations – was already an excellent place to spot future sprinting talent even before the race moved from Ascot to Newmarket as part of the trading to set up Champions Day.
A recent roll of honour that includes Hot Streak and Quiet Reflection suggests that whichever speedy two-year-old comes out on top will be worth following on the road to next season's Commonwealth Cup.
Lord of all he surveys
Henry Candy has been thwarted at home and abroad by the elements, with the five-year-old being limited to just three starts in Europe this year.
There may not be too many more occasions to admire Gordon Lord Byron on a racecourse and to salute this wonderful servant to trainer Tom Hogan and his owners.
Gordon Lord Byron's days of globetrotting may be behind him but the nine-year-old already has one Group 2 win under his belt for the year and remains incapable of giving anything other than his best.
Read exclusive previews of Newmarket's Friday card from 6pm Thursday evening on racingpost.com
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