Juvenile Watch: winners in waiting plus Hannon's eyecatchers

An easy decision this week! George Boughey had made no secret of the regard he held Soprano in, and she demonstrated that his faith was not misplaced when scoring on debut in the five-furlong maiden at Newmarket on Thursday.

Despite racing keenly in the early stages, the Highclere Thoroughbred-owned filly showed an exceptional change of gear to shoot lengths clear of a decent field and won cosily under William Buick.

She looks to be a filly with plenty of size and was noticeably longer in the leg than all of her rivals. She certainly didn’t physically resemble a stereotypical ‘early type’ two-year old.

Her pedigree isn’t all geared towards speed, either. Her sire, the rapid Australian bred sprinter Starspangledbanner, certainly delivers an abundance of speed, and class, while Soprano’s dam, the unraced Lealas Daughter, has a pedigree that suggests stamina for at least a mile, courtesy of her sire Excelebration. With Montjeu situated further back in the pedigree, too, that again hints towards stamina for further than the trip she won over at HQ.

I always have a heightened interest in early performances over the minimum trip from colts or fillies who defy their pedigree or physicality (and in this case, both). I believe it suggests untapped ability and I will be following Soprano closely.

Given she is such a tall filly, it will be important that she takes her racing well and it would be no surprise to me if her highly talented trainer takes a slow approach with her. Wherever she ends up next, I’ll be an excited follower.

Horse:Midnight Affair (Dark Angel)

Trainer: Richard Fahey

She travelled powerfully behind a wall of horses when finishing second behind the aforementioned Soprano on debut last week but was forced to switch in dramatic fashion to her right.

She finished with a powerful burst and would have made the winner pull out more if granted a clear passage. She’s a full sister to dual winner Rhythm Master, who is rated 103 and won on debut over six furlongs but has also scored over seven, so going up in trip is an option for Midnight Affair in time. She should be capable of winning a similar contest over this trip.

In a race that is sure to throw up a multitude of winners (last year’s contest was won by Royal Ascot heroine Dramatised) she was the standout eye-catcher in defeat.

Horse:The Line (Caravaggio)

Trainer: Richard Hannon.

He was exceptionally immature and nervy in the preliminaries, and on the way to the start, before being awkward to load into the stalls. He showed further signs of greenness with a tardy departure from the stalls but did race in a professional manner through the early stages.

His two more experienced rivals demonstrated a superior turn of foot, but I was impressed by his finishing effort under a beautifully sympathetic hands and heels ride.

With this experience behind him, he looks capable of winning on his next outing.

Richard Hannon has been open about a shift in emphasis in the training of his two-year olds in recent seasons. In the early years of his training career, he followed closely in the footsteps of his father and forged a reputation for having his two-year olds tuned to the minute for their debuts, with plenty of success.

Over the past few seasons, there has been a notable shift towards allowing his juveniles to learn on the job. With his jockeys appearing to have clear instructions to use the whip sparingly, if at all (as demonstrated so beautifully by Pat Dobbs on The Line).

As a result, I think winning debutants from his yard can have their performances upgraded, as is the case for impressive Newbury winner Dapper Valley, as well as Love Billy Boy who made a winning debut at Musselburgh.

With three juvenile winners on the scoresheet already, things are going well this season, but I’d be confident that May, June and July will see a far steadier stream of winners.

Recent runners Mashadi, Haatem and Liv My Life (who looked to bump into a talented type on her second start) all look up to winning a maiden contest before progressing further.