Dubai: Newmarket’s historic Craven meeting kicks off on Wednesday with a high-quality card that offers a full-scale dress rehearsal for the forthcoming British Classics, fronted by next month’s Guineas meeting.
Top races like Wednesday’s Nell Gwyn Stakes (G1) and Thurday’s Craven Stakes (G3) offer connections the chance to measure the form of their contenders leading up to the big races.
No less than 23 horses who are still engaged in either the 2,000 Guineas (May 3) or the 1,000 Guineas (May 4), including several with Dubai-connections, will be hoping to reveal some important Classic clues.
Among them are Godolphin’s Nell Gwyn hopefuls Folk Melody and Majeyda, both trained by Charlie Appleby, Saeed Manana’s Blockade and the Saif Ali-owned Lamar.
Folk Melody, the 6-1 third favourite behind Richard Fahey’s Sandiva and John Gosden’s Dorothy B, makes her first start since posting an impressive maiden victory at Newmarket’s July course last season.
Majeyda caught the eye when dominating her rivals to win the Listed Montrose Fillies’ Stakes in November and will hope to draw on her valuable experience of competing at contrasting tracks like Leicester, Sandown, Doncaster and Longchamp, France. She is a 10-1 shot in most markets.
Also among the 15 runners in the race is trainer Charlie Hills’ crack three-year-old filly Queen Catrine, who was placed in both Group 2 and Group 3 contests last season.
“We are very pleased with Queen Catrine and she is very forward in her coat, although she may find seven furlongs a bit on the sharp side,” Hills said.
“We obviously want to win a Group race with her and she does try very hard. She is entered in all three versions of the Guineas — in England, Ireland and France — and we will just have to see how she gets on in the Nell Gwyn before we decide where she goes next.”
Wednesday card also features the £100,000 (Dh614,500) Tattersalls Millions 3-Y-O Sprint, where Appleby’s Wedding Ring is the 11-4 favourite.
“Wedding Ring has been training well on her return from Dubai. We are pleased with her progress and confident that dropping back to 6f will suit, she should run a competitive race,” the trainer reported.
Wedding Ring won the UAE 1,000 Guineas trial at Meydan earlier this year before going on to take fourth place behind Godolphin’s leading filly Ihtimal in the Classic three weeks later.
The afternoon’s most valuable event has attracted a high class field of 13, including Marco Botti’s 2,000 Guineas hopeful Naadirr.
Saeed Bin Surour’s True Story was second to subsequent Breeders’ Cup winner Outstrip on debut before effortlessly winning his second start back at Newmarket and looks an exciting prospect in the Listed Feilden Stakes, a notable Classic trial that saw runner-up Erhaab subsequently land the Epsom Derby in 1994.
