High Celebrity to strike for Fabre in Cheveley Park Stakes
HIGH CELEBRITY was an expensive failure when Andre Fabre sent her from France to Newmarket in July, but can make amends there in tomorrow’s Cheveley Park Stakes (3.10pm).
She was back to winning ways impressively in a Group Three at Chantilly last time and will get a great toe into the race from favourite Tiggy Wiggy. Her trainer considers High Celebrity a Group One horse and she can prove him right at 5/1.
In fact, consider the 16/1 for next season’s 1000 Guineas, as she could halve in price if successful tomorrow.
Tiggy Wiggy is rapid, but this will be her eighth start of the campaign and others will arrive fresher.
Saturday’s showpiece at racing’s HQ is the Cambridgeshire (3.50pm). With 35 runners, it’s certainly not a race to have your mortgage on.
Cornrow has the right unexposed profile and comes from the John Gosden yard, which has taken this prize three times in the past. But he’s short enough at 7/1 for a big-field contest like this ─ a totally alien experience for lightly-raced horses.
My two selections are GABRIAL’S KAKA and VELOX. The former won the 23-runner Spring Cup at Newbury earlier in the season and has run credibly since. With a good-looking draw in 34 and an excellent jockey booking in the shape of Pat Smullen, I’m expecting a big run at 25/1.
Velox won a good pot at Sandown in July and is better than he showed in his next two runs. The money has come for Luca Cumani’s charge, but there’s still juice in the 12/1 available. Claimer of the moment Cam Hardie takes off a valuable 5lb too.
Looking at today’s action and I would have fancied LUCIDA for the Cheveley Park, so I have to back her for a far easier assignment in the Rockfel Stakes (2.40pm).
A shade unlucky not to win the Moyglare Stud Stakes, Godolphin’s representative should be different class to this lot and 7/5 is too big.
CAPTAIN CAT has got his act together for Roger Charlton and is worth keeping onside in a really good renewal of the Joel Stakes (3.15pm). The gelding was 6/1 when the market opened and is now hovering around the 4/1 mark, but you might get a bit of 5/1 this morning.
Pointers…
LUCIDA 2.40pm Newmarket (today)
CAPTAIN CAT 3.15pm Newmarket (today)
HIGH CELEBRITY 3.10pm Newmarket (tomorrow)
GABRIAL’S KAKA e/w 3.50pm Newmarket (tomorrow)
VELOX e/w 3.50pm Newmarket (tomorrow)