The Trackside Live team share their findings from last week's level-weight races and flag up the most eyecatching horses to follow.
Come On Eibhlin (Dylan Cunha)
18 June - Royal Ascot, Queen Mary Stakes
It was immediately clear to see why trainer Dylan Cunha had decided to bring his unraced juvenile Come On Eibhlin to Royal Ascot for her debut.
The daughter of Space Blues boasts the ideal demeanour for making her entrance onto the racing stage, thoroughly relaxed in preliminaries for the Queen Mary Stakes and taking all the trappings of Royal Ascot in her stride.
Priced at 250/1, she out-ran all expectations under Josephine Gordon, making encouraging headway with a furlong to go, finishing a very respectable ninth.
A 22,000 guineas purchase as a yearling, Come On Eibhlin is out of a Teofilo mare who won over seven furlongs as a juvenile and stayed up to ten furlongs at three. With that kind of page, longer distances appear ideal and it’ll be fascinating to see where the filly turns up next.
Rahiebb (Roger Varian)
18 June - Royal Ascot - Queen’s Vase
No one wants to undertake a run before a marathon, and that’s the simplest way to describe Rahiebb’s paddock antics.
A deep-chested, burly colt, he had all the physical attributes of an eye-catcher but jogged and pulled throughout the preliminaries, leaving the paddock for the start in a heavy sweat.
It was therefore particularly eye-catching to see the son of Frankel come with a notable run at the two furlong marker before running out of steam and plugging on for a promising third.
Described as green on his first two career outings, it feels the colt is still learning on the job and we may see a streamlined, professional version of Rahiebb by the end of the season – capable of winning over staying trips.
Big Mojo (Mick Appleby)
20 June – Royal Ascot, Commonwealth Cup
An interesting one, is Big Mojo, as we at Trackside have seen him a few times in the flesh and he can often be very fresh and keen beforehand, sometimes to the point where it’s off-putting; initially we thought that might be the case again and, as ever, he’d been given permission to go to post early.
But to our surprise, he settled much better than is usually the case once in the parade ring, and whilst he still had a couple of handlers the situation was well under control, so much so he didn’t go to post anywhere near as early as can be the case.
We all saw the horror show that unfolded in the race, Hollie Doyle settling him nicely enough at the rear but blocked at every turn as she tried to make ground up. Once out, he ran on well enough to finish seventh, and whilst we aren’t saying he’d have won by any means, he’d certainly have got closer.
One to watch if he reappears in the July Cup in a couple of weeks, especially if he’s as well-behaved beforehand.
Palladium (John & Thady Gosden)
21 June – Royal Ascot, Hardwicke Stakes
A lot of media attention has been showered on Palladium – expensive Deutches Derby winner, short-lived hurdling career, you know the story – but the colt’s run in the Hardwicke Stakes indicates he has a bright future back on the flat.
Having looked to need the run at Goodwood, he exploded into the paddock at Royal Ascot with two handlers, thoroughly lit up by the exciting carnival atmosphere of the meeting. Whilst fit enough, there was still room for improvement from the son of Gleneagles and his run probably suited that analysis – travelling well from midfield before running out of petrol in the final furlong.
A horse that won at Huntingdon over hurdles during the jumps season is probably not going to be equally suited by rattling fast ground at Royal Ascot and he came back through the pre-parade blowing hard.
It will be fascinating to see where the team go next - a small Group race away from the main festivals could be a goal kick for this talented colt, who is probably not getting the kudos he deserves.
Royal Ascot winners from the column…
Merchant - Skybet Handicap - York, 15 May
“...he looked a cut above his opposition in the paddock beforehand, and the way he won this marked him out as one that, assuming he gets a decent draw, is the one to beat in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot.”
Docklands - Diomed Stakes - Epsom, 7 June
“Docklands… didn’t disappoint again on Saturday, striding into the paddock like he owned the place….(at Ascot) his full record of 113222 means he’s one to take seriously in a couple of weeks time for the Queen Anne….Get off to a good start by backing him each-way on the day.”
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