'She seems ever so well' - Free Wind and Aristia clash in high-class Middleton Stakes

It is rare for a horse with the talent of Free Wind to be contesting the Middleton Stakes and she brings a touch of superstar quality to this Group 2. 

Free Wind has looked a Group 1 winner waiting to happen ever since her runaway seven-length May Hill success at Doncaster in September 2021, although her fragility is obvious with just one start since.

The May Hill is run over the St Leger course and distance, but Free Wind possesses more speed than a typical stayer and proved she had trained on from three to four with an impressive success off a modest pace in the Lancashire Oaks over 1m4f last July. 

The way events panned out at Haydock badly inconvenienced Free Wind. Eshaada almost wiped her out by the far rail in the home straight under Jim Crowley and Robert Havlin’s mount lost significant momentum. 

The fact she found enough in the tank to regain her poise in the sprint to the line to pull two and a quarter lengths clear of the race-fit Sea La Rosa, who bagged two Group 2s and a Group 1 in her next three outings, suggests we are dealing with a top-class horse. An entry in the Arc later in the campaign adds credence to that. 

The biggest challenge for Free Wind will be if this becomes tactical. That certainly proved the case in last season’s Middleton, a race officially run over two seconds slower than the Dante later on the card. 

Aristia was well positioned to capitalise that day, having set a steady pace up front, and it seems unlikely that lightning will strike twice in this bigger field with a few of these proven over further. Poptronic, Sea Silk Road and Stay Alert would also appreciate more of a test over this distance. As the sole Group 1 winner in the field, Aristia will be up against it conceding 3lb to a 4lb superior horse in Free Wind.
Analysis by Robbie Wilders

'She's in a better place this year' - Levey confident of bold Aristia run

Sean Levey hopes Aristia can establish herself as a top middle-distance mare again this season and believes she is in a better place for her return in the Middleton Stakes.

The Richard Hannon-trained five-year-old was a 20-1 second in the race a year ago, but proved that was no fluke when winning the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet at Deauville in August.

Not seen in action since her French heroics, Aristia has pleased Levey in the build-up to her first start for 270 days.

Aristia (right): was second in the Middleton Stakes last yearCredit: Edward Whitaker

"She's in good form and seems ever so well for a winter break," the jockey said. "I'm looking forward to riding her. She's in a better place coming here this year than last year and she's come forward more in her coat and physically.

"I'm hoping for a good run and she should progress from it to compete in those big races later in the year."

Aristia has winning course-and-distance form at the track too, having landed the Listed Lyric Fillies' Stakes in July 2021.

Levey added: "She's a very straightforward horse who seems to handle any track she runs on, but there's no doubt her form at York is strong and she should be able to be thereabouts once again."

'This is a nice starting point' - Free Wind back in action

John and Thady Gosden are looking forward to getting multiple Group 2 winner Free Wind back on track before some possible loftier targets.

The daughter of the late Galileo only raced once last season when winning the Lancashire Oaks at Haydock from subsequent Group 1 winner Sea La Rosa and she makes her return from a 320-day layoff.

Thady Gosden said: "She's been off since winning the Lancashire Oaks last season and this looks a nice starting point for her season. She's back in trip and we'll see how we go before she steps back up in distance."

What they say

Karl Burke, trainer of Poptronic
She’s done really well and is working really nicely. She was a huge two-year-old and always a filly we expected would get better with age. I'm sure she will stay a mile and a half, but this is a good starting point. They make her the outsider of the lot, but she’ll outrun those odds.

Tom Clover, trainer of Rogue Millennium
She ran a solid race in France and looks to have come out of it really well. She's run two good races this year and is in good shape. It's a tall order as she's running in good company, but she deserves to take her chance. She doesn't want the ground to dry up too much, but a good, galloping track should suit her well.

Hughie Morrison, trainer of Stay Alert
We're very happy with her. It's her first run of the season and we're happy that the ground is drying out, although we don't want it to dry out too much. We're hoping she can put a line through her final run at Ascot last season.

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