Juvenile Watch: Ross Millar has a 20-1 ante-post tip

Touleen has already featured in this section, after creating a big impression with her debut win at Newbury last month. 

On Tuesday, she maintained an unbeaten start to her career with an even more dominant display at Leicester.

Ordinarily winning at Leicester on a Tuesday under a penalty might not be seen as top-class form, but with the well-backed odds-on favourite Zanthos, who to my eye had delivered the most impressive debut performance by a filly this season when winning at Newmarket, being beaten nearly four lengths, this is a performance that has to be taken seriously.

Touleen was restless in the stalls but broke on terms and was settled in behind the leader where she travelled nicely. Jockey William Buick eased her to the left with two furlongs to run and she effortlessly got to the front before easing clear under minimal urging from her pilot.

She powered through the line giving every impression that she’ll comfortably stay a mile, if not further in time.

I said after her debut win that I expected Touleen to be winning Group races this season and this result has hardened that opinion. The betting markets were apparently less impressed than I was and I’m surprised to see she is still as big as 20-1 for next year's 1,000 Guineas.

I think that’s a very fair price, she’s already shown herself to be versatile with ground, having won on good and good-firm, will stay the mile well and is lodged with the most underrated trainer in the UK. She becomes my second ante-post wager for the 2026 Classics.

Runner-up Zanthos was bitterly disappointing, I both backed and tipped her and was expecting a big performance to ignite 1,000 Guineas hopes with her.

After her win at Newmarket trainer Simon Crisford had referenced her hot nature and that proved to be her undoing here.

Oisin Murphy elected to try to educate and settle her in behind horses, but she failed to comply and simply pulled far too hard resulting in a tame finishing effort.

I won’t write her off just yet, as she’s clearly talented, but the Crisford team have a big winter ahead of them, as they’ll need to get her to settle if she is going to progress from here.

As we head towards the close of the season, I’m hoping some form of order might appear as I bid to make sense of the relative ability of this years juveniles, a plethora of group contests await, which should help the distillation process.

Saba Desert is unbeaten in two starts, the latest of which came in this grade at Newmarket in the Superlative Stakes. That victory means he has a 3lb penalty here and, furthermore, I think it’s entirely feasible to suggest that he was the third-best horse in that race given that Italy and Wild Desert, who placed second and third, were badly hampered by fourth-placed Venetian Lace.

Gewan is also unbeaten in his career so far and showed improving form to win the Acomb at York on his latest start.

There was no fluke about that win and, should the runner-up from York, Italy, re-oppose, I would be firmly in the camp of the Andrew Balding-trained colt. I suspect though that Italy will wait for an assignment over a mile where he could well find improvement.

Oxagon won impressively on his second start at Sandown last time out, but he was receiving plenty of weight from the runner-up who won on his next start but that did follow a gelding operation, he is of course open to plenty of improvement but he’ll need to.

With plenty of rain forecast my selection at this stage would be Cape Orator. He won a competitive conditions race at Deauville a month ago, where he appeared to enjoy the soft conditions when staying on powerfully over six and a half furlongs.

By Mohaather out of a Motivator mare, he should stay a mile comfortably, so a soft ground test over this trip should suit well.

Ralph Beckett has endured a stop-start season, but is coming into a good vein of form, and traditionally this is a time of the year when he does well. At 7-1, Cape Orator looks a solid each-way play at the very least. 

The Champion Juvenile Stakes on the Saturday of Irish Champions weekend looks a below par renewal, but the Moyglare is anything but. 

Composing has improved with each of her four starts and, last time out, accounted for the hitherto unbeaten Suzie Songs in the Group Two Debutante Stakes over this course and distance. 

Home court advantage is of course a factor for the Aidan O’Brien-trained filly, as is the fact that she could have as many as four team mates in the line-up.

However, Karl Burke landed this two-years ago with Fallen Angel and I believe he can repeat the feat, this time with the unbeaten Venetian Sun.

She extended her unbeaten run to four by virtue of an impressive display last time out when beating the colts in the Prix Morny over six furlongs at Deauville.

She already races like the ultimate professional; with her relaxed manner meaning she’ll have every chance of staying this trip. She has shown a smart turn of foot on each of her four starts and gives the distinct impression that she is only ever doing enough when hitting the front.

She’s 3lb clear on official ratings and, yet, is not currently the clear favourite. I rank her as comfortably the most talented filly in the field and, providing she’s not victim to smart Ballydoyle team tactics, she should win this.