Listed Bet365 Stakes Guide 2021

A 3 year old colt for John and Thady Gosden, Derab is a lightly raced sort who’s only ran 4 times in his career.
A debut run late last season saw him beaten by La Barrosa who subsequently won a group 3 and came a narrow 2nd in the Craven Stakes at the start of this season.

Derab came back to the course in April of this year but couldn’t live with recent Falmouth Stakes winner Snow Lantern as the filly was impressive breaking her maiden.

He easily shed his maiden tag on his next outing over a mile before moving up starkly in grade and trip when contesting the Prix Du Jockey Club at Chantilly in early June.

The swift move up to the Group 1 caught him out and he only managed 8th on soft ground in the French Classic.
Dropping back starkly in grade will help and his breeding strongly suggests that 10 furlongs will be his optimum trip.

He’s highly unexposed and has loads of improvement to come. The form with Snow Lantern is some of the strongest on offer in the field.

Saeed Bin Suroor saddles Real World here in the all blue of Godolphin.

The 4 year old has only run six times and took to the course with a very impressive debut win over 10 furlongs back in last October.

A trip over to Meydan proved fruitless as he struggled to notch a win over 11.5-12 furlongs in Dubai but he managed to get his head back in front with a lethal display in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot last month.

Sneaking into the handicap near the bottom of the weights, he defied a low draw to a bloodless victory off a mark of 94. Marco Ghiani was well worth his 3lbs claim as he made great use of his mount’s stamina to a taking win.

He was receiving weight from the majority of the field in the Royal Hunt Cup but looked a super classy individual in how he went through the race.

He’s well worth his chance at listed company and stays 10 furlongs.

The 5 year old gelding for Sir Michael Stoute hit new heights this season when taking listed honours for the first time.
Previously mixing it in handicap company, he returned to the course this season in listed company but shaped like he’d come on for his first outing of the season.

He did just that when easily winning a listed race at Windsor over a mile in mid May beating Stormy Atlantic.

We last saw Solid Stone in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot last month. He was sent off joint favourite but had to settle for 3rd, being unable to shoulder his 3lbs penalty to Patrick Sarsfield and Juan Elcano.

A stiff 10 furlongs under the penalty in a strongly run race probably asked a little too much of him but he has won well over the trip in handicaps earlier in his career.

Carrying the most amount of weight in the field will ask serious questions of his quality again and some younger and less exposed types might get the better of him.

A Fastnet Rock colt for Roger Varian lines up for only his 5th start of his career.

The 3 year old was unlucky to bump into one on both of his starts as a 2 year old and finished his juvenile campaign still a maiden.

Coming back to a racecourse as a 3 year old he immediately got off the mark in smart style beating Kemari who has since won the Group 2 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot.

Connections moved Movin Time up in grade off the back of his impressive maiden win and he contested the Hampton Court Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He didn’t fare as well as Kimari and finished 5th behind the impressive Mohaafeth.

Coming back down in grade will suit as he looked a little short of quality in a Group 3 event last time out but should be able to find his feet against listed company.

He gets weight from all but Derab in the field and his form has worked out well this season.

An 8 year old trained by Ed Walker, he’s notched an impressive 9 career wins including 4 group wins.

He ended a 2 year barren spell of wins recently when getting his head in front in a listed race at Goodwood back in May.

He’s been highly effective over 8 to 10 furlongs over the last few seasons and went abroad to pick up group honours in Italy and Germany.

He ran well and fairly consistently last season but failed to notch any wins.

Coming back to racing off the back of a break and a wind op saw him record a couple of 2nd place finishes in Listed contests, including a 2nd to Solid Stone at Windsor, before gaining listed success at Goodwood.

He’s not been seen since his win in May and will have to shoulder a penalty for his most recent success.

Younger and less exposed legs might just get the better of this 8 year old gelding.

A 5 year old who moved over from France into the care of David Menuisier last year.

Some low grade handicaps saw him gain his first success for his new connections before a never nearer 5th in Deauville in a conditions race.

This season saw him rise to new heights when winning a class 2 handicap at Epsom off a mark of 92. Over 10 furlongs he looked absolutely lethal when coming from the rear of the field to swoop to an easy looking 5.5 length victory.

Menuisier moved him up in grade off the back of that success and he contested the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He acquitted himself well on his first attempt at a higher level and came 4th, just behind Solid Stone.

The Wolferton Stakes was quite a deep race this year and this certainly will be easier than a competitive 13 runner affair at Royal Ascot.

If he settles well at the back of the field off a strong enough pace he could reverse the form with Solid Stone from Ascot.

Trained by Marco Botti, Felix is another runner here who tried his luck in the Wolferton Stakes at Ascot but had to settle for 6th place.

A winner of a novice race as a 2 year old for Sir Michael Stoute he didn’t taste success again until the last run of his 3 year old season when winning a low grade handicap at Newmarket.

A switch in stables seemingly livened him up and he handily notched up 3 wins from 4 runs across the winter of 2019-2020.

Given a long summer break, he returned to the all weather at the start of this year to win a conditions race before a narrow 2nd in a Winter Derby Trial.

Placed efforts in a group 3 and a Group 1 over in Meydan followed before his showing in the Wolferton.

He’s certainly an out and out 10 furlong horse but his sequence of wins and best runs have all come on the all weather.

He’ll need a career best to be competitive in a strong looking race on turf.

Wearing the white and blue of King Power Racing is Fox Tal. Yet another runner here seen in the Wolferton, this time filling the 7th spot.

The 5 year old has only run 14 times so has relatively low mileage for his age and even beat Sir Ron Preistley in a novice race back in 2018.

He’s run some massive races in defeat in deep group 1 races having come 3rd in Saint-Cloud and 4th in the 2019 Champion Stakes.

His form has taken a major dip since and he didn’t even post a placed effort last season.

A gelding operation and lowering their targets for him saw him go close on his seasonal return in handicap company at Chester.

Again though, when moved up in class he’s struggled to hold his own. Beaten twice by Euchen Glen and a mid-field finish in the Wolferton.

He’s likely going to be left wanting for a little bit of quality again.

Down towards the bottom of the betting is Majestic Dawn for Paul and Oliver Cole.

The 5 year old has won 3 of his 12 career outings, winning a maiden and a couple of handicaps. His most recent win came in the valuable Cambridgeshire handicap at Newmarket last year at a massive price of 40/1.

His form had been pretty ordinary excluding the shock win in the Cambridgeshire.

His two previous wins had come with some cut in the ground over 10 and 11 furlongs, winning over 9 furlongs easily in a competitive heritage handicap was a big surprise.

His first run this season came in handicap company and he shaped like he needed the outing, lugging 10 stones around Windsor off a high mark of 105.

His handicap heroics last season have exposed him too much to the assessor to get competitive again in that sphere so a move to listed company is the logical move.

Anywhere between 9 and 10 furlongs looks his ideal and he could be holding onto any amount of improvement off the back of his comeback run.

Hard to assess but if he posts a run like he did at Newmarket last season he could be right in the mix.

The outsider of the field is Bless Him for David Simcock and Jamie Spencer.

A highly reliable handicapper over the years, he scalped Lord North at Ascot in late 2019 when giving weight away to the subsequent group winning horse.

He’s struggled to uphold his form since moving into listed and group company. The handicapper has his measure off a mark of 105 but he doesn’t quite seem good enough to make that move into higher company worth it.

He has been mainly campaigned over a mile so connections will be hoping that this change in trip will suit him now that he’s getting older.

His two outings this season have left plenty to be desired.

A 9th placed effort in the Queen Anne Stakes at Ascot on his seasonal debut was followed up by a 5th place at Windsor. Despite dropping back to listed level he only managed to beat one rival home.

He needs the new trip to spark a revival for him to get involved but now he’s 7 he could appreciate the emphasis moving to stamina.