Juvenile Watch: Cam Hardie insight and names to note

Throughout the season I’ll endeavour to get the opinion of jockeys, on not only individual two-year olds but also the first season sires. First up Cam Hardie.

I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from the stock of Calyx. They are strong and correct and resemble him physically. He’s not had plenty of winners yet but I think he’ll get them.

Inns Of Court. He got faster as he got older yet seems to have put plenty of pace into the few progeny of his I’ve sat on.

Soldiers Call wasn’t very big and the same is true of his offspring that I’ve seen. But he proved good things come in small packages and he clearly had an engine. It’s evident by his volume of winners that he’s passing that on.

I’m excited to see what the Richard Fahey-trained Native American can achieve. He’s a very laidback individual by Sioux Nation and I think he’ll improve off an already impressive debut.

She was far from perfect on her debut at Doncaster on Saturday, yet I was still very taken by the performance Carla’s Way delivered for Simon and Ed Crisford.

She broke smartly but this perhaps worked against her, as with no cover she raced far to exuberantly, pulling through much of the first two furlongs under Jack Mitchell.

Once settled she travelled powerfully, with a big ground devouring stride. It would have been perfectly reasonable if, given her early over exertion, she finished tamely over the six-and-a-half-furlong trip, yet as the pack closed she found plenty for pressure and was ultimately going further clear at the line despite drifting marginally to her right.

A daughter of Starspangledbanner, she shares her sire with another Flotus, a filly who had a successful juvenile season for the Crisford team in 2021 winning the Champion Two-Year-Old Stakes at Ripon before finishing runner-up to Tenebrism in the group one Cheveley Park Stakes.

Even though she saw out this extended trip well I’d be wary of her stretching out in trip to seven furlongs given how keen she was in the early stages.

A fast run 6f - as she would get if aimed towards the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot - would offer her likely optimal conditions.

It is only the presence of the tongue-tie that dissuades me from making her an ante-post play, as I’d have reservations about her on soft ground if the weather gods were to throw some rain in the direction of Ascot.

I appreciate that this section is featuring more than a fair share of Hannon colts and fillies. But I hope with good reason, as they are, pretty much without exception, taking giant steps forward on their second starts.

Serene Seraph finished third in a maiden at Doncaster and was given a quintessential Hannon/Dobbs debut experience, with the emphasis placed on relaxing through the race and finishing the race out well, without the use of the whip.

She finished well having been green when initially coming off the bridle, a drop back to the bare 6f would suit and in a similar grade she’s a sure-fire future winner.

Sorry! But it’s Richard Hannon again with a pair he ran in the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom on Friday.

Haatem was sent off favourite but his race was effectively over before it began as he totally missed the start and forfeited a huge amount of ground.

It is to his credit that he arrived at the furlong pole in a challenging position before a lack of room and those early exertions meant he could only stay on into third. He is worth another chance at this level and could yet take high order in the division.

The Camden Colt struggled to handle the unique topography of Epsom he was unbalanced down the hill and was never able to challenge before he also encountered traffic problems. He did make moderate late progress, a return to a stiff 6f on a more conventional track would make him of interest and I’m sure he’ll stay 7f later this season.