Juvenile Watch: Dhabab will be hard to beat at Newmarket

One of the many challenges to face our family since the move to France last August has been learning a second language.

Arthur, 6, and Scarlett, 4, have been very quick out of the blocks and were fluent inside six months. My wife Emz has also got to an excellent standard in no time at all.

I am somewhat more in the mould of a raw, unfurnished thoroughbred with connections hoping that another winter of training will see me make up into a solid mid-80 rated handicapper by the time summer 2022 arrives!

Not being fluent does have some advantages, primarily that you are excused the awkward small talk at the school gates etc.

My go to piece, on the rare day we get rain, is “C’est le temps d’ete britannique” which translates to “this is weather for a British summer”.

Sadly, this appears to be all too true of the current British weather and in the run up to Newmarket’s July meeting, the forecast is looking decidedly unsettled.

With exciting entries for the Tattersalls July Stakes, the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and the Superlative Stakes, lets hope Newmarket can swerve the bulk of the rain so that we have a sound surface to see these two-year olds race on.

The Karl Burke yard has hit a rich vein of form with their two-year olds having sent out four winners in the past week alone.

Attagirl was an impressive, wide-margin winner of a six-furlong fillies' maiden at Haydock on Friday night, and her debut run had been full of promise when beaten less than a length in third over the same course and distance.

Here she put her previous experience to good use and having broken smartly, she demonstrated great early pace to get to the front travelling strongly.

When asked to quicken by Danny Tudhope, the response was instant and decisive as she quickly moved a long way clear which allowed her to be eased down well before the line.

Her dam was a Listed winner over six furlongs in Italy on just her second start as a two-year old. I think it’s entirely reasonable that Attagirl would herself be well up to winning at Listed level in her next few starts.

An exciting time is upon us as we now move into nursery handicap season, and below are a couple that I think are potentially better than their opening mark.

Trainer: Rod Millman.

He’s arguably the unluckiest two-year old I’ve seen this season. Having had the misfortune to bump into subsequent Coventry Stakes winner, Berkshire Shadow, on his debut – and he was only beaten half a length there - he then found Flaming Rib, who is now rated 90, too hot to handle on his second start.

His third run at Salisbury was disappointing, but I know connections believed the soft ground was to blame.

On his latest start at Ascot, it all appeared to be too much for him, and his behaviour beforehand would certainly have compromised his chance. If that didn’t, then racing on the wrong side of the track certainly would have.

Given that he has finished in front of a plethora of horses who are now rated between 80 and 94, I think a mark of 79 is there to be exploited, providing he races on good ground or better.

Trainer: Ollie Pears.

This filly has already been mentioned in one of my previous columns, and if you failed to add her to your Racing TV tracker on that occasion, then I would consider adding her now.

Her third run mirrored her second in that she travelled well and looked to hold every chance approaching two furlongs out, but she then appeared to get swallowed up as a number of the opposition got first run on her, and she wasn’t forcefully ridden to finish in sixth place.

She has been given an opening mark of 62, and I would fully expect her to be competitive off that rating over six furlongs.

Given her stout pedigree, surely connections will look to steadily up her in trip in an effort to stay ahead of the handicapper.

The weather could yet have a significant influence on ground conditions on the July course this week, with the Moët & Chandon July Festival taking centre stage on Racing TV from Thursday to Saturday.

In Thursday’s July Stakes, I would fully expect Project Dante to confirm that he was indeed the best horse in the Norfolk Stakes and capture this Group Two prize.

If significant rain were to fall and turn the ground soft, I would be jumping ship to my old pal Ebro River.

Andrew Balding and connections of Sandrine will surely welcome any rain that falls and if the ground was soft, she would have to be considered the most likely winner in Friday’s Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes.

However, if the ground was to stay on the fast side, there would surely be a question as to whether she posseses the necessary raw speed to maintain her position, although the track will suit her well.

My selection would be Sadmah trained by Kevin Ryan; his two-year olds are stepping forward significantly on their second starts.

The form of her debut win has been enhanced by the recent impressive win for the aforementioned Attagirl and she has a stamina-laden pedigree, so the stiff finish on the July Course will almost certainly suit her.

Dhabab was mentioned as one to note in my Royal Ascot review, as he had no luck in running. He finished in eyecatching style over six furlongs in the Coventry Stakes, and he’ll be hard to beat in the Superlative Stakes on Saturday.

My Twitter feed was awash with “bubble burst” comments in relation to the run of Kaboo in Friday’s Dragon Stakes at Sandown.

The winner Fearby was indeed suitably impressive, but I don’t think all is lost with Kaboo just yet.

He was very keen in the early stages and didn’t get an ideal position plus he looked to labour briefly when asked for his effort before finishing to good effect.

Having raced on the wing of the field on his debut at Ascot, this will have been his first experience of racing in the pack, and I think he’ll have learned plenty from this. His tenacious attitude in defeat on both starts has also impressed me.

In just two career starts, he has raced at Listed level both times, and I think he is likely to step up in trip and could well be a smart performer yet.