September Saturday Preview - Ascot - 04/09/21

This event has thrown up numerous first time up winners over the years therefore the debutants must be respected but with Alotaibi and Wanees already showing a useful level of form we anticipate this renewal will end that trend.

John Gosden’s son of Acclamation produced a big effort when beating an 81-rated rival on debut at Newbury therefore he is the obvious one to side with under a penalty however at a bigger price we are willing to take him on with Wanees.

This son of Le Havre was over 7 lengths behind that day at Newbury but he caught the eye travelling smoothly in mid division and Jim Crowley gave him such tender-handling that it was picked up in the race comments.

Shadwell’s 2-y-o boasts some fancy entries so we are expecting an improved effort today which when taking the weight swing into account makes him worth opposing with market leader with.

In the Fillies’ Novice Stakes event we are siding with Bouqet for John Gosden.

Gosden took out this race with Shambolic in 2018 and this exceptionally bred filly was a major eye-catcher when a never-nearer third at Newmarket in July.

The form of that race hasn’t worked out badly and the combination of a 3lb claimer and 18/1 price tag suggests connections believed she would improve plenty for her first outing.

Rab Havlin now takes over from the claimer which is the exact same swap which saw Beholding hose up at Lingfield the other day having finished third on debut.

With all this taken into account this Group-entered two year old looks value for the win - especially with the top weight likely to ensure this is a truly run race.

We have two each-way fancies for the Lavazza Stakes (Heritage Handicap).

This 3-y-o handicap is a tricky puzzle with all of them still open to any amount of improvement but at 6/1 we believe Alfaadhel will run well carrying top weight for Roger Varian.

Night Of Thunder is an ever going recommendation as a sire and this progeny has been progressing race to race with his recent second at Glorious Goodwood rating a useful piece of form.

He has had a nice break since then and should be primed to run a big race here.

At a bigger price William Haggas’ Candleford may outrun his 10/1 price tag.

This son of Kingman has been brought along patiently which is often a sign this yard think he is a nice horse and his 4l victory a Windsor has been handed a nice boost with the second winning at Haydock on Thursday.

There is plenty of stamina on his dam’s side so he is likely to stay this trip and with his rider’s 5lb claim taken into consideration he is running off a mark of 80 on handicap debut.

He isn’t the most straightforward of types so a race of this nature may come too soon but he is unexposed and shouldn’t be ruled out at a price.

The distinct lack of pace on offer here makes this a potentially messy affair which could play into the hands of Maxi Boy, who looks one of the likely contenders to take up the prominent tactics under Cieren Fallon.

This colt hasn’t quite matched his top class juvenile form however he has ran respectably in a couple of useful handicaps already this season and he certainly wouldn’t be out of turn popping up here with the yard going well.

He is the least exposed in the field as a 4-y-o and the bookies have him as big as 11/1.

We are siding with another Cieren Fallon ride in the next as Sunrise Valley looks to make it three wins from four career starts for Sir Michael Stoute.

With this 3-y-o filly boasting such a pedigree she is likely to be in need of rattling fast ground or an artificial surface so this weekend’s conditions look perfect for her and based on what she has produced already a mark fo 85 is fair.

She finished well behind Royal Fleet (now 100) on debut before bolting up in two subsequent races and with Sir Michael Stoute often taking the patient approach we anticipate that she hasn’t finished improving yet.

At 5/2 she isn’t the greatest bet of the day but she looks to most likely winner of this event.

Our selection in the final race of the day at Ascot is Noorban for David O’Meara and Jamie Spencer.

There is a chance Mine’s A Double is thrown in on handicap debut having won both career starts however his form hasn’t really stacked up thus far and with a couple of these likely to go off strong we feel Spencer is the perfect partner for Noorban.

The daughter of Sepoy has mixed it in some useful handicaps this season and her latest never-nearer third at York would put her right into this - especially if the race is run to suit.

A stiff straight track is perfect for her and she has no issues with the drying ground.