RACECARDS
The Mandarin’s Saturday Selections for 12th October 2024
The Mandarin’s Saturday Selections from Newmarket & Chantilly
Newmarket
Space Blues Darley Stakes (Group 3) 1.15
Liberty Lane
Karl burke holds the key to the first of the Pattern races on Newmarket’s Saturday card with Liberty Lane. This Teofilo gelding won the Cambridgeshire here over course and distance in fine fashion two weeks back, and with the Spigot Lodge handler having such great spell, Liberty Lane is easy to back. John & Thady Gosdens’ Lead Artist is well-bred and may prove to be the main danger, having chased home Kinross in the Park Stakes at Doncaster last time out, but the extra cut in the ground does ask a question. Ralph Beckett’s Skellet is progressive and gets weight all round, so completes the shortlist, but Liberty Lane is the one to beat.
Palace Pier Zetland Stakes (Group 3) 1.50
Starzintheireyes
A chance is taken on Ralph Beckett’s Starzintheireyes for the Group 3. This Starspangledbanner colt landed a novice race over 7 furlongs at Leicester on good to soft ground last month, and should be all the better for the step up to this trip, with Rossa Ryan riding the crest of a wave after his Group One win in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. Aidan O’Brien is double-handed here with Shackleton and County Mayo, with Ryan Moore getting the leg-up on Shackleton, though County Mayo has plenty of scope so enters calculations. Starzintheireyes to score for the in-form team of Ralph Beckett and Rossa Ryan.
Emirates Autumn Stakes (Group 3) 2.25
Delacroix
This Group 3 can go back to Ireland with Aidan O’Brien’s Delacroix. Turned over when an odds-on favourite in the Champions Juvenile Stakes at Leopardstown, by Jessica Harrington’s Green Impact, he can make amends here with his sights lowered and this course likely to suit. Charlie Appleby’s Silver Peak rates the obvious threat after an eye catching win in a novice at Haydock Park, while Sir Michael Stoute’s Nightwalker also gets a mention after showing plenty of pace to win a maiden at Yarmouth last month. Delacroix to score, with Ryan Moore having saddled Nightwalker at Yarmouth knowing what he has to beat.
Darley Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1) 3.00
Shadow Of Light (nap)
A real cracker for the feature, where the Charlie Appleby trained pair of Shadow Of Light and Ancient Truth are closely matched with Aidan O’Brien’s The Lion In Winter. There’s been plenty of support in the ante-post markets for The Lion In Winter, following his trainer’s win in this Group One last year with City Of Troy, so this Sea The Stars colt is a short price to make it a ninth success for Aidan O’Brien in a contest he targets. However, The Lion In Winter now has to prove himself away from home and on deeper ground, so Charlie Appleby’s Shadow Of Light edges the vote. Two starts here and two wins, including on soft going, so Shadow Of Light to go in for the big one.
Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap (Heritage Handicap) 3.40
Manxman
In a typically hot renewal of this famous race, an each-way punt on Simon & Ed Crisfords’ Manxman looks as good a bet as any. Lightly raced this year, this Cracksman gelding has not been seen since winning a Racing League contest on the all-weather in August, going through the line with a bit in hand, and that win has since been franked with the second, Warmonger, scoring at Kempton Park. He’ll act on any surface and the claimer’s offset knocks a useful 3lbs from his mark. For all that, there’s a strong Irish party trying to plunder a valuable prize pot, not least Jacovec Cavern from Emmet Mullins’s yard, with Hayley Turner booked for the trip, Gavin Cromwell’s Sixandahalf, who lines up after a fine third in the Irish Cesarewitch and Aidan O’Brien’s top-weighted Queenstown. Willie Mullins has been targeting these big handicaps in recent times, so Sea Of Sands gets a mention after a nice warm up win in a maiden hurdle at Listowel last month. Manxman to fend off the Irish contingent and keep this big prize on home soil.
Chantilly
Criterium de Maisons-Laffitte (Group 2) 3.42
Daylight (nb)
This Group 2 can go to the smart prospect Daylight, chiefly at the expense of British raider Sky Majesty. Patrice Cottier’s Earthlight filly was second only to Aidan O’Brien’s Lake Victoria in the Cheveley Park Stakes two weeks back, and that Group One form stands up to scrutiny for this Group 2. That said, Sky Majesty looks a progressive one for William Haggas, so this Blue Point filly demands respect with Christophe Soumillon given the ride. Polyvega completes the shortlist for the highlight at Chantilly, but Daylight is the one to follow.
The Mandarin