Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Progressive Barmyblade going for C&D hat-trick
It has been a productive spring for Tim Easterby who has sent out 33 winners in April and May, a vast improvement on the 19 winners he enjoyed in the same couple of months last year.
Barmyblade has been a big contributor to Easterby's tally as he has won three of his four starts this spring, proving a different proposition from the horse who was unplaced on all seven starts as a juvenile.
Barmyblade's last two wins have come over six furlongs at Ripon - the course and distance he tackles on Thursday (15:20).
Ripon, with its undulations, can unbalance some horses, but Barmyblade clearly handles the track well and has Timeform's Horses For Courses Flag to highlight his effectiveness. It's also notable that on his last two outings he was given the 'k' in-running symbol by Timeform's report to show that he travelled comfortably. Indeed, the way he moved through the contest last time suggests he's still ahead of the handicapper and up to defying a 6 lb penalty.
Travel Agent a potential big improver
The Timeform 'small p' can often be seen attached to a rating on racecards - especially at good-quality meetings - as it denotes the horse in question is likely to improve. The Timeform 'Large P' is deployed much more sparingly but is used to show the horse is capable of much better form.
Travel Agent, who contests the seven-and-a-half-furlong novice (16:00) at Lingfield, has the 'Large P' after showing plenty to work with when sixth on debut at Kempton in October.
Travel Agent, a 200,000 guineas purchase as a yearling, was poorly drawn widest of all in stall 14 and was soon on the back foot after breaking very slowly, showing his inexperience from the outset. He was still last of all turning for home and had plenty to do, but he made good headway up the inside before his effort flattened out in the final furlong.
He was described by Timeform's reporter as the pick of the field on looks on debut, and is in good hands with Roger Varian to fulfil his potential. A gelding operation since he was last seen might also help him take a big step forward.
Trawlerman clear on ratings in Henry II Stakes
Kyprios, the dominant stayer of the last few seasons, may have been retired, but Aidan O'Brien still has a leading contender for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot as he is responsible for market leader Illinois.
Illinois made a pleasing return to action when winning the Ormonde Stakes at Chester this month, and some of his form from last season was given a boost over the weekend. Sosie, the horse he chased home in the Grand Prix de Paris, won the Prix d'Ispahan at Longchamp, while Los Angeles, the stablemate he was a neck behind in the Great Voltigeur Stakes, won the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Illinois is completely unexposed as a stayer so may well improve on his Timeform rating of 121, though the Gold Cup contender with the strongest claims on form, as things stand, is last season's runner-up Trawlerman who is rated 124.
Trawlerman ran to that level when beating Kyprios by a neck in the 2023 Long Distance Cup and did so again when a length behind the same rival in last season's Gold Cup, pulling five lengths clear of Sweet William in third.
Trawlerman is now a seven-year-old and wasn't at his best when only fifth in the Dubai Gold Cup on his return at Meydan in April, but he's a smart performer on his day and gets the chance to state his Gold Cup case in the Henry II Stakes (19:05). Those efforts against Kyprios mark Trawlerman out as the one to beat and he is 6 lb clear of Al Nayyir on Timeform's ratings.
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