Saturday's card at Newmarket should offer plenty of clues as to next year's Classics, with the G2 Juddmonte Royal Lodge S. featuring some highly-regarded Derby hopefuls headed by 'TDN Rising Star' Best of Days (GB) (Azamour {Ire}). Second to another Godolphin acquisition in Syphax (Arch) in the seven-furlong G3 Acomb S. at York when last seen Aug. 17, the bay who had previously scored impressively on debut by six lengths at this distance at Sandown July 20 is likely to appreciate this rise in trip. “I know that Hugo Palmer is happy with the way that he has been working,” commented John Ferguson, chief executive and racing manager to Godolphin. “We are looking forward to seeing another good run in the Royal Lodge.” Another 'TDN Rising Star' in attendance is Markus Jooste's Douglas Macarthur (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), who was third in Leopardstown's G3 Champions Juvenile S. Sept. 10 having scored by five lengths over a mile at that trip July 21. Aidan O'Brien also saddles the maiden The Anvil (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Coolmore's UK representative Kevin Buckley said of the pair, “Both horses come into the race in good form at home and both have come out of their previous races well and we are now looking forward to Saturday. There was no real post-mortem after Douglas Macarthur's defeat last time, but we are hoping that he can make amends on Saturday.”
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
