I was impressed by DARK THIRTY last time out here at Newmarket over shorter and am backing him again here. A more than capable three year old, he hinted that he had improved again when winning here, travelling sweetly in the process. Knowing Richard Hannon he would have left something to work on so that should put him cherry ripe for today's assignment over a furlong further.
Newmarket 3.00 – Dark Thirty
Saturday
I'm not sure how much rain is going to fall today/tomorrow so hard to know for sure what the ground is going to do. If it has half decent then SUMMERGHAND would be an obvious bet in the 1.45 despite his advancing years. He made up a lot of ground the last day to defy a positional bias and finish well and if arriving here in similar form he looks the best handicapped of these.
If the ground is soft however then CHAIRMANOFTHEBOARD will have a big say in proceedings. Jack Channon's charge bounced right back to form last time out and certainly deserves to get his head in front somewhere after being the bridesmaid so often, including in this race last season. Low weight on soft ground, he certainly has a big chance.
No matter how much rain we have I don't think it is going to be as soft as it was last year when Vadream took the Palace House. One of my personal favourites, it is hard to ignore her but I can't see there being enough distance for her to power from the back here. I can see Tees Spirit making a bold go of it from the front and wouldn't put anyone off having a cheeky each way punt on the lowest rated in the race. But I do think MITBAAHY is the one to be on after he was such an eye catcher last time out. Jamie Spencer gave him a very easy time of it and he made up a lot of ground, again deying a positional bias on the day, in a competitive Group 3. This looks a shade easier and the fact he stays further can only be a positive.
The 2000 Guineas looks at the mercy of City Of Troy but I'm not here to put up 4/6 shots and am actually quite taken with HAATEM. An impressive winner of the Craven Stakes, he seems to be overlooked in the market despite running a fast time in that race. They didn't go all that quick early on but he was certainly a strong finisher and finished clear of what I thought was a decent field. He's fit, proven on ground and trip so what is not to like? You certainly wouldn't get 33/1 about too many Craven winners.
Newmarket 1.45 – Summerghand / Chairmanoftheboard
Newmarket 2.55 – Mitbaahy
Newmarket 3.35 – Haatem
