Saturday’s card at Newmarket is one of the standouts of the late summer/early autumn months – particularly for fans of the juvenile action. Of the seven races on offer from HQ, five are restricted to two-year-olds - including a trio of Group class contests.
The Cheveley Park Stakes tops the bill for the up-and-coming fillies as a field of regally bred sorts does battle over the straight 6f. The near-£300,000 contest celebrates its 125th anniversary in 2024 and boasts an illustrious roll of honour - 2000 Guineas heroines Natagora and Special Duty, and four-time Group 1 winners, Alcohol Free and Porta Fortuna, having come home in front since the turn of the century.
A fascinating heat in its own right, the Cheveley Park Stakes is well worth watching with an eye to the future. With 14 remaining in contention at the five-day stage, we look at the main contenders and a trio of runners worth considering for each way punters.
The Market Leaders
Babouche – 11/8 with bet365
Trainer: Ger Lyons
Sire: Kodiac
The 2024 edition of this race presents a fascinating tussle between two unbeaten fillies – the first of whom hails from the County Meath operation of Ger Lyons. Having saddled Lightening Pearl to victory in 2011, Lyons knows the sort needed to prevail and will have high hopes for the Juddmonte-owned Babouche.
By strong speed influence Kodiac and out of the Listed winning miler Pavlosk, this filly has been flawless in three starts to date. Way too good on debut at Cork, she followed up with a verdict over Camille Pissarro in a Group 3 at the Curragh. Pleasing as those efforts were, it is her most recent display in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes that gives her rock-solid claims for this.
The market expected Babouche would play second fiddle to July Stakes winner Whistlejacket that day, but the flying filly was having none of it – quickening up smartly for a 1½l success. With Whistlejacket going on to land the Prix Morny, that’s the strongest form on offer here. Whilst her two Group wins have come on good ground, Babouche scored on good to yielding first time out, suggesting the forecast rain in the Newmarket area shouldn’t inconvenience.
Lake Victoria – 5/2 with bet365
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Sire: Frankel
Trained by the greatest Group 1 trainer of all time and sired by the highest-rated racehorse ever, Lake Victoria is an opponent to fear – all the more so considering she also arrives with three wins from as many starts.
It is generally a good sign when a runner from this yard wins first time out, and so it has proved with this daughter of the Commonwealth Cup and Haydock Sprint Cup winner Quiet Reflection. Following her narrow debut success, Lake Victoria has claimed the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at this track and the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh - when emphatically lowering the colours of Chesham Stakes winner Bedtime Story.
Now the joint favourite for the 2025 1000 Guineas, the big question mark against Lake Victoria is the drop to 6f – all three victories have come over 7f. Nevertheless, she isn’t short of speed, and the dam side of her pedigree offers encouragement.
Outsiders Worth a Second Look
Raveyka – 12/1 with Quinnbet
Trainer: Francis-Henri Graffard
Sire: Blue Point
Babouche and Lake Victoria are undoubtedly the form picks, but there are plenty of intriguing contenders lower down the list, including this late supplementary entry from the yard of Francis-Henri Graffard.
Only making her debut on 20th August, this daughter of the four-time Group 1 winning sprinter Blue Point came up just short that day but improved to hack up by five lengths last time out at Chantilly. It’s hard to know what she beat that day, but she couldn’t have done it any easier and must be held in high regard to be stepped straight into Group 1 company.
Graffard has already launched successful cross Channel expeditions with Calandagan (King Edward VII Stakes) and Goliath (King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes), and this Aga Khan filly may prove a big threat – particularly if the ground is soft on the day.
Celandine – 12/1 with bet365
Trainer: Ed Walker
Sire: Kingman
By star miler Kingman and out of the 7f Listed winner Pepita, Celandine is bred to thrive over slightly further in time but has certainly made her mark over sprint trips. If we put her debut effort to one side, this tough bay has only lost at the hands of the colts – when running with credit in the Prix Robert Papin and Molecomb Stakes. In pattern company against her own sex, her record stands at a perfect two from two. Impressive in the Listed Empress Fillies Stakes on the July Course, she posted a career-best to claim the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York last time. This is tougher again, but her never-say-die attitude gives her solid claims of hitting the frame.
Maw Lam– 66/1 with bet365
Trainer: Adrian Nicholls
Sire: Acclamation
And for one at a really big price, how about this hugely likeable filly from the North Yorkshire yard of Adrian Nicholls? By Diadem Stakes winner Acclamation and out of the low-grade 6f winner Bobbi Grace, Maw Law isn’t as regally bred as some but doesn’t lack when it comes to effort. That she has managed to win only one of seven starts is largely down to bad luck and an exaggerated hold-up style. Third in the Queen Mary Stakes, fifth in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes, and a neck second in the Firth Of Clyde Stakes last weekend, she needs a big career best to win, but that late finishing burst could threaten the places if the leaders go too quick.
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
Paul Harrison
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