Martin Dixon's Saturday tips: Go for Peak performance

A progressive horse who has won his past two starts, he beat subsequent winners when he got off the mark at Southwell in July and then beat a well-regarded previous winner in Evening Saigon when we last him 49 days ago. I quite like the fact that he has had seven weeks off and not had an overly busy season. 

I like his draw in stall four and I hope he will be able to follow the likes of Bolo Neighs and Raneenn and get a nice tow into the race. 

My first bet on a good-looking Saturday comes in the Zerland Stakes. Back in 2018 when Aidan O’Brien last won this race with Norway, it was with the apparent stable second-string and I wonder if County Mayo might be able to repeat that feat here – he certainly looks overpriced at 8/1 in the early markets. 

I was really impressed with him last time out at Gowran Park when he won a mile maiden and looked very strong at the finish. He’s by Wootton Bassett out of an unraced half-sister to the Arc winner Danedream and I think that the extra couple of furlongs here will really benefit him. 

That performance represented a big step forward from his debut and I think there’s a lot more improvement still to come. This is an open race and I think he’s worth a small win-only bet. 

Both of the races in which this horse has so far lined up have been really strong affairs. He was an encouraging fourth, first time out when needing the run at Kempton, finishing behind the hugely-exciting Detain and then he went to Haydock and improved quite significantly to win second time out. In the process, he beat a horse called Sir Dinadan who absolutely hosed up at Pontefract. 

Although on strict ratings, he will have a bit to find with Delacroix who was second in Group Two company, I thought he looked a little bit lazy the way he raced at Leopardstown. It was only a four-runner race and not the easiest piece of form to assess but I’m happy to oppose him with Silver Peak who seems to be improving and can be backed at a best-priced 11/4. 

Alfa Kellenic has been an obvious revelation this season and bids to gain her seventh straight success here, but in winning the Silver Cup at Ayr last time she defied a rating of 93 – mitigated by William Pyle’s 3lb claim – and Rage of Bamby was scoring off 99 when she scored at York in July. 

She has since run with credit in two Listed races, her second at Ayr last time out behind the thriving Star of Lady M was a particularly good performance and I think going back up in trip will be of benefit to her. I also like the fact that her only previous run at this course saw her run a very good third in the Rockfel here as a two-year-old.