Yarmouth report: Spyce and Division drop big-race clues

Alan King was not ruling out a tilt at the Futurity Trophy with Spyce after he opened his account at the second time of asking at Yarmouth on Tuesday.

The Too Darn Hot colt ran a race full of promise when second to Aidan O’Brien’s Frescobaldi in the usually informative Convivial Maiden at York’s Ebor Festival last month, and was a 7-4 favourite to go one better in the British Stallion Studs EBF ‘Confined’ Maiden Stakes under Rossa Ryan.

After tracking the pacesetting Nova Centauri for much of the one-mile contest, Spyce was strongly challenged by the well-backed Lighting Thunder, another John and Thady Gosden-trained juvenile, inside the final furlong.

The pair drew clear of the field to fight out the finish and while Lighting Thunder briefly poked his head in front in the hands of William Buick, Spyce battled back gamely to win a thrilling duel by a neck, with Nova Centauri – third on his Newbury debut – three and a half lengths back in third.

King said: “I’m delighted with that as the third horse had decent form and the runner-up was quite well backed just before the off, so I would imagine that was quite a hot race today.

“He’s quite a laid-back horse, he works well but I wouldn’t say he works exceptionally. He’s a horse who just does what you ask of him.

“It’s usually a good sign when one of mine runs as well as he did first time because they normally come on an awful lot for a run. When they run well first time they’re usually pretty smart.”

Paddy Power cut Spyce to 25-1 from 33-1 for the Futurity at Doncaster on October 25. When asked whether a tilt at the British Flat season’s final Group One was on the agenda, King added: “I don’t know yet, I’ll get him home and have a chat with Rossa and the owners and see what they want to do. I’m not ruling it out anyway, we’ll see.

“He’s not in anything else at the minute as all those other two-year-old races closed ages ago. If he was to go to Doncaster I’d imagine he wouldn’t want another run in between, but we can go home and think about it.”

Another Yarmouth winner who could have big-race ambitions is Division, who comfortably landed cramped odds in the opening Thoroughbred Daily News EBF Novice Stakes.

Second on his Windsor debut for William Haggas and the Wathnan Racing team, the son of Kingman won in some style at Haydock less than a fortnight ago and followed up with a dominant front-running victory as a 2-7 shot in the hands of James Doyle.

He is 14-1 from 20-1 for the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday week with Paddy Power.