Put your faith In Dalo and Erzindjan in the Cambridgeshire
THERE is a feast of action to get stuck into from Newmarket this week, with two Group One contests and the deeply competitive Cambridgeshire Handicap (3.40pm) headlining the bill on Saturday afternoon.
The Cambridgeshire boasts the largest maximum field size of any Flat race in the UK with 35 slots up for grabs, which is the exact number of entries at this stage, meaning all those entered will be guaranteed a run.
Ante-post backers of the current favourite, Gavriel, would have been delighted to see the entries narrow so considerably at the confirmation stage. That ensured he gets a run, seeing him shorten up with the bookies since Monday afternoon.
He’s trained by John and Thady Gosden, and with John having won this a record five times, there’s a good chance he’s thrown in off a mark of 99. However, the Clarehaven team have gone cold in the race recently, not winning it since 2019 with Lord North.
Having had just four relatively lowly runs in his career so far, this is a completely different task for Gavriel, and I can leave him alone at his current odds.
I’d rather side with more experienced runners and INDALO is just that.
He was narrowly beaten in this contest a year ago, going down by a nose, but has been a big player in many top handicaps this season.
Running with great credit when beaten a neck in a competitive handicap at Newbury first up, he was undone by the draw in the Royal Hunt Cup when winning his side to finish third overall.
He finally got his head in front at Sandown before enduring a luckless run in the competitive Golden Mile at Goodwood, with the winner subsequently bolting up at the Ebor Meeting.
Roger Varian is excellent at targeting these big handicaps and I’d say he’s minded him for another crack at this. The 8/1 is worth taking.
I’ll also back ERZINDJAN, who looks primed to go better than his fourth-placed effort last year.
He was the big eye-catcher in the race, having to slalom through his rivals two furlongs out before thundering out of the dip to win his side by a margin.
There’s a good chance he’d have troubled the judge had he got clear running, so has to be of interest here despite the slight rise in the weights.
His win over course and distance in May reads well and he’s a solid each-way pick at 14/1.
The Cambridgeshire is preceded by two Group Ones, with the Cheveley Park Stakes (2.27pm) looking a particularly cracking renewal.
If all three of Sun Goddess, SENORITA BONITA and Libertango show up, it’ll be one of the best editions in years. However, Sun Goddess may opt to wait for the Fillies’ Mile, having taken the step up to seven furlongs in her stride last time.
That would open the door for the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained filly, who was mightily impressive in the Group One Prix Morny last time, displaying an electric turn of foot to dispatch a high-class field.
On form, she also has the beating of Libertango, whom she downed at the July Meeting. Senorita Bonita goes on any ground and the 7/4 is more than fair.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Senorita Bonita Newmarket, 2.27pm
Indalo e/w Newmarket, 3.40pm
Erzindjan e/w Newmarket, 3.40pm