Which of the three-year-olds can take it to the old guard in the Geoffrey Freer?

3.00 Newbury
Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Geoffrey Freer Stakes (Group 3) | 1m5½f | 3yo+ | ITV/RTV

The Geoffrey Freer and Hungerford Stakes have always shared this Newbury card, but their roles have been at least partly reversed this year. The Hungerford appears fresh and informative. The Geoffrey Freer, won by three-year-olds in two of the last three years, has shades of more of the same.

In fairness, there are three-year-olds. Three of the eight runners, in fact, a good proportion in this delayed season. It is just that none look obviously on their way to the top, like Defoe or Technician turned out to be.

Max Vega has struggled in two runs this year, having won the Zetland. Tritonic has been second at Royal Ascot and to Subjectivist on his last two runs – poor fortune, no doubt, but he is still nearly a stone off the standard. Hukum won the King George V last time, but was running off just 90 so similar comments apply on the attainment gap. He is nominated as the one with the potential to make the jump, if any of them can.

Most of the older horses are known quantities, regular swimmers in the shallows of the middle-distance and staying Pattern. Swimming is particularly apt in the case of Morando, who is known to excel when the mud is flying. He was beaten favourite in this race last year and his position atop the market again owes something to forecast heavy, potentially thundery showers in the area.

Few of the other contenders are likely to be inconvenienced by testing ground. Communique was second to Dame Malliot on soft last month, the reappearing Sextant ran perfectly well when chasing home Morando on notably soft ground in the Cumberland Lodge when last seen, and the lightly raced Alignak ran a career-best on good to soft last time.

If the ground does get testing, tactics could decide the race, the advantage conferred by front-running being demonstrably greater on soft ground. None of the runners are regular pace-setters, which would appear to give first option to part-timer Communique unless the fitting of blinkers lights up Almania.
Keith Melrose, betting editor

What they say

David Simcock, trainer of Almania
It’s his last run before he goes to Australia. In an ideal world a Group 3 placing would open up more options for him there, so that’s what we’re hoping for. It will be hard to win, but we’d love to get a place.

Angus Gold, racing manager to Hamdan Al Maktoum, owner of Hukum
We were thrilled with the way he won at Ascot. For such an inexperienced horse having just the third run of his career I thought he did particularly well. He got struck into and it’s taken him a while to get back. It will be good to see him up a grade. This horse is bred to improve and he has the physique to do so.

Hukum: 'He is bred to improve and has the physique to do so'Credit: Edward Whitaker

Alan King, trainer of Tritonic
His half-length second in the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot was a super effort, but it was his first race for nine months so it was no surprise he improved again when subsequently runner-up in Listed company at Hamilton. He stays well, so going up again in trip won’t worry him.
Reporting by Richard Birch

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