Timeform's man at the track David Cleary provides his latest horses to follow including a Newbury debut winner who might be heading for the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot.
BRAVE MISSION – 1m 3yo handicap, Ascot, 09/05/25
Brave Mission made a highly promising return to action in a rather lop-sided three-year-old handicap. Power Fizz was sent off at odds on, able to run before being reassessed for a good effort at Goodwood the previous week and around 10 lb ahead of his mark. He won as he was entitled to.
Brave Mission emerged best of the rest and showed more than enough to suggest he can win a handicap or two this summer. He was having his first outing since last September. He looked to have done well physically, though he also looked as if there was something to work on in of fitness.
A son of Frankel, Brave Mission will stay a mile, indeed may well be suited by it. Although it is always a highly competitive handicap, the Britannia might well be an enticing option for Brave Mission's connections on the back of this promising effort.
CROWN IMPERIAL – 1¼m 3yo maiden, Newbury, 16/05/25
There was plenty of money for Crown Imperial on debut at Newbury. A son of Frankel and closely related to the Arc winner Waldgeist, with a generally superb pedigree, Crown Imperial looks the part as well, but his lack of experience found him out on debut.
Showing greenness in the preliminaries, Crown Imperial was patiently ridden in a race that was run more to suit those ridden prominently. Once shaken up early in the straight, Crown Imperial again ran green. He was staying on in the closing stages, though without being able to land a blow.
Crown Imperial looks the sort that could improve significantly for an outing. It's likely he will find ten furlongs a minimum trip, and a step up to a mile and a half or more could enable him to show his full ability.
EL BUDOOR – 1¼m 3yo fillies maiden, Ascot 09/05/25
There was a quartet of really nicely-bred newcomers in this maiden, though as it turned out all four of them needed the experience to varying degrees. The pick of the four on looks was El Budoor, a tall, attractive daughter of Kingman, but she also turned out to be the one most in need of the education.
She was on her toes when her rider tried to get on, managing to dislodge him on the horsewalk to the track. She missed the kick as well, then raced keenly on the downhill run in the first two furlongs. El Budoor was beginning to make ground when she found trouble in the straight and was spared a hard race.
El Budoor should be a fair bit more street-wise with this experience behind her. She's a ready-made winner of a maiden or novice and could make significant improvement in time. Given her keenness, it may be that she'll be best kept to a mile and a quarter for the time being.
HUMIDITY – 6f 2yo maiden, Newbury, 16/05/25
No fewer than eighteen lined up for one of the first six-furlong races for two year olds of the year, quite a few of them with a fair bit about them physically. Humidity, though, would have been in the top two or three on looks, a strong colt who looked in good shape for his debut.
Humidity knew his job well too, making the running and responding well once challenged. While others might well have needed the experience more, Humidity ran to a decent standard first time up and looks likely to be competitive at a higher level.
Humidity is a brother to Holloway Boy who was also a first-time-out winner as a two year old, though his success came as a surprise, given it was in the Chesham Stakes. That might be a race that would be suitable for Humidity, given he is likely to benefit from the step up to seven furlongs.
MR HAMPSTEAD – 2m handicap, Goodwood, 23/05/25
I could have picked any one of four from the principals in a handicap that looks sure to prove a strong piece of form. Let's plump for the runner-up Mr Hampstead, who is the least exposed of them, so far as handicaps go.
Highly tried at three – running in the Derby, no less – Mr Hampstead, now gelded, has been switched to staying handicaps this spring. He won at the first Goodwood meeting and was a shade unfortunate not to follow up. He was involved in a battle for the lead for a long way, which ensured the race was a proper test of stamina. However, that just told against him late on, run out of things in the last 50 yards.
Mr Hampstead has a host of options later in the summer, and as he'll stay beyond two miles, the Ascot Stakes and Goodwood Stakes may well be near the top of the list.It wouldn't be a surprise either if later in the year he's stepping back up in grade.
MY CLOUD – 1m handicap, Newbury, 17/05/25
The unexposed My Cloud's two wins this spring have marked him out as an obvious candidate for the Royal Hunt Cup. He bolted up at Ascot on his return and then defied a 10-lb rise in the weights at Newbury.
My Cloud didn't score nearly so straightforwardly at Newbury, but he did really well to win, given how the race unfolded. Set plenty to do, he began to make ground over two out, but with the leader Boyfriend responding to pressure, My Cloud had to be ridden to get up near the line.
My Cloud won at Newbury despite the run of the race. A typical Hunt Cup ought to play much more to his strengths, which suggests he can find the extra likely to be required for this ultra-competitive handicap.
SIOUX PERFECT – 5f 2yo fillies maiden, Ascot, 09/05/25
Sioux Perfect hasn't run to a particularly high level in two starts to date, but she left the distinct impression on her second outing here that she has quite a bit more to offer. She looks the part and was sent off at short odds on her debut at Beverley, but failed to justify that , running green and finishing fifth of twelve.
Sioux Perfect fared better at Ascot, though again showed inexperience, rearing leaving the stalls. She was unable to recover fully from that, but was keeping on in the final furlong. The form of the Beverley race has worked out well and the race at Ascot has already thrown up a next-time-out winner, which is clearly encouraging.
It's hard to know from her pedigree what her optimum distance might be – it's a contrast of speed and stamina – but a step up to six furlongs next time wouldn't go amiss. She ought to be up to winning a maiden or novice at least.
UPDATES
Cosmic Year earns top billing from those mentioned in the first two columns this spring, even though his Irish Guineas bid came up short. He took a significant step forward on his first try at Group 1 level, no discredit in finishing runner-up to the impressive Field of Gold. Cosmic Year would have finished closer had he been able to make his move sooner and can win a good race or two this summer.
Grand Grey was another to make the trip to the Curragh, tackling the Greenland Stakes. He can have a line put through his effort. He – and his rider – seemed to be caught napping at the start and although he managed to get in touch, trouble in running added to an outing to forget.
Time For Sandals fared better, the drop back to six furlongs suiting her on a trip to Chantilly for a Group 3. She was beaten a head and produced a career best. She will continue to give a good .
Cajole has been out twice on the all-weather since her debut. She won at Newcastle and then ran well under a penalty at Wolverhampton, looking the likely winner for much of the way but swept past late on by her debuting stable-companion Nahraan. Cajole has a positive profile and could be just the type for the Sandringham.
So much for the positives – on the negative side, Vantheman went backwards instead of forwards when he took his chance in a big field at York.
Wise Approach didn't make the expected progress when only fourth in a novice at the Dante meeting, but it's too soon to be writing him off.
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