Hanson: Newmarket Spot Plays Sept. 28

Newmarket (Photo by Horsephotos.com)

September 27th, 2024

Juveniles are in the spotlight at Newmarket on Saturday, with the better sprinters of that age competing in a pair of Group 1s and those with a bit more stamina lining up in the one-mile Royal Lodge (G2). The latter is the first race in the Euro/Mideast Road to the Kentucky Derby series.

After the scratch of our top selection in the Princess Royal (G3) and a third-place finish by Duty First in the Rockfel (G2) on Friday, my English betting balance stands at $462.90. A win wager equal to 5% of the outstanding balance will be placed on the following two races.

Race 2: Royal Lodge (G2), 8:50 a.m. ET

A promising colt with a Coolmore-type pedigree who isn't actually racing for Coolmore, #1 Angelo Buonarroti (5-1) caught the eye when breaking his maiden during York's Ebor Festival. That followed a debut ninth in the Coventry (G2) at Royal Ascot, in which he was beaten less than three lengths.

By Justify and out of a full sister to dual classic winner Churchill and Group 1 winner Clemmie, he packs quite the pedigree punch. He's conceding stakes experience to some of the other major players here, but is seemingly well-priced and hopefully can handle the going, which was riding soft-to-heavy on Friday.

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€1million purchase Angelo Buonarroti (Justify) breaks his maiden on his first start for @RalphBeckett under David Egan in the @BritishEBF Convivial Maiden Stakes @yorkracecourse 🟣🥇 pic.twitter.com/meVyrG8bvH
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) August 23, 2024

Race 3: Cheveley Park (G1), 9:25 a.m. ET

The undefeated Irish Group 1 winners #2 Babouche and #5 Lake Victoria are justifiably favored and the ones to fear, but on the present ground I'm not going to sleep on French raider #4 Daylight (7-1).

The first stakes winner sired by Earthlight, who captured the Middle Park (G1) over this course, Daylight has faced males and encountered soft ground in all four starts while winning two, including the Prix de Cabourg (G3) at Deauville (a race her sire won, too). She was a commendable third in the Prix Morny (G1) last out, and might have run Whistlejacket and Rashabar closer if a gap had opened sooner.

The Cheveley Park has fallen to French invaders before, including Vorda (2013), Special Duty (2009), and Natagora (2007) in the last two decades.