'She has a chance of being a top five-furlong filly this year' - quotes and analysis for the Palace House

Call it marketing spin if you will, but the best thing about the five-furlong division is that the summit is always within reach.

That is especially true this season, as Bradsell has gone off to stud. Aside from him and Australian tourist Asfoora, the best Racing Post Rating over the distance in Europe last season was 120. Nine of the 11 runners in the Palace House are within 10lb of that number, after you adjust for weight and sex. It may seem like a lot, but at five furlongs 10lb is not even three lengths.

The Palace House is often used as a starting block, and Newmarket does not map very well to the tracks that host the major five-furlong prizes later in the year. That is the main reason this race tends not to be as indicative of the season to come as you might think.

Only three of the runners have already been seen in 2025, including outsider Pepsi Cat. The two that matter are Clarendon House and Washington Heights, who are strictly the form picks. The pacey and reliable Washington Heights is still establishing himself at this distance, but it is fancied to be his optimum.

There are younger horses with just as much potential. In the case of sole three-year-old Tropical Storm, the potential is doing a lot of the lifting. Four-year-old fillies Beautiful Diamond and No Half Measures look the likeliest to bridge the gap. 

Beautiful Diamond was second to Believing in a Group 2 contest at the Curragh in July and ran well twice more without improving. No Half Measures did her best work on softer ground, although she won on the July course in midsummer too, and arguably finished with her best run. She was fifth in the Abbaye, doing by far the best of those from double-figure stalls in a notorious draw race.

Funny results in the Palace House are not common, despite last year's winner returning 33-1. There are ample candidates in this year's race to put in a claim on the vacant belt in the five-furlong division.
Analysis by Keith Melrose

What they say

Robert Cowell, trainer of Clarendon House, Democracy Dilemma and Seven Questions
We've had a game plan with Clarendon House this year to race him less frequently and hopefully he'll reward us. This has always been the plan since Southwell, and I thought that was a good performance. He's in good order. Democracy Dilemma had a spin the other day and seems in very good form. His coat is dappling out. He had a busy year last year but was pretty consistent. Seven Questions is new to us, but he seems to have done enough work. He seems a little behind in his coat compared to the other two, and we'll see if the ground is too lively for him.

Richard Hughes, trainer of No Half Measures
It's a good starting point for her and we couldn't be happier. We think she's got stronger this year. Ideally I'd prefer a bit of cut in the ground, but she ran a huge race when third at Royal Ascot last year on good to firm ground. She came home sound as a pound, so I can't say she can't go on it.

Richard Spencer, trainer of Twilight Calls
It's a learning curve because it's his first start for us. He's not getting any younger but he shows a bit of enthusiasm still at home. We'll learn a lot more about him here and it will be interesting to see how he runs. He's run well at Newmarket and in this race previously, so fingers crossed he can go well. He'll take a step forward from it fitness-wise.

Adam Ryan, assistant to Kevin Ryan, trainer of Washington Heights
He went out to Qatar in the winter and ran a cracking race, but we think he's getting faster with age and that now he's a five-furlong horse. He's in good form and the stiff five furlongs at Newmarket should suit.

Karl Burke, trainer of Beautiful Diamond
She's wintered really well and has a chance of being a top five-furlong filly this year. She finished third in this last year and it wouldn't surprise me if she runs another big race.
Reporting by Liam Headd

Read more . . .

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