Soul searching for Hungerford Stakes success

The Hungerford Stakes is the feature horse race in the United Kingdom this weekend and it is one in which the likely favourite is worth taking on at shortish odds.

Strong Suit, one of two Richard Hannon-trained runners among the 10 declarations for the Group Two contest over seven furlongs at Newbury, will almost certainly jump from the stalls as the shortest priced of the competitors.

The four-year-old son of Rahy is the top rated runner in the field, running off an official mark of 123, but he has been beaten a total of 43 and a half lengths in his last three racecourse appearances, albeit in strong Group One races.

Strong Suit has not run up to his best form for about a year and, as such, he is not a horse about which to be taking short odds. Also, his finest performances have come on relatively firm ground and, if anything, the going at Newbury is likely to be on the soft side of good.

If Strong Suit does not reproduce his best form then the horse most likely to profit is Godolphin`s Soul, whose last two runs, including one at Newbury, have been excellent.

Soul was finished the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot just one and a quarter lengths behind Black Caviar and the form of that Group One race has been franked by runner-up Midnight Cloud, which won the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville by five lengths in an authoritative display.

Black Caviar, Moonlight Cloud and Restiadargent had a little bit too much speed for Soul over six furlong on good ground but, three weeks later over the same trip but on heavy going, the five-year-old son of Commands spreadeagled a Group Three field, winning by four lengths going away.

Seven furlongs on ground with some cut in it shapes as Soul`s ideal assignment - he won over the distance in Australia so there are no stamina doubts - and he is more attractive than Strong Suit at the pre-race market prices.

The other Group race on the Newbury card is the Geoffrey Freer Stakes, a Group Three contest over a mile and five furlongs in which it will be a toss up between Brown Panther and Mount Athos as to which one starts as the favourite.

But perhaps the best value in the race is last year`s St Leger winner, Masked Marvel, who was three lengths too good for Brown Panther in the Doncaster-hosted classic for those three-year-olds who can see out a 14-furlong-plus trip.

Masked Marvel has disappointed since his Group One success but his form is not as bad as it reads straight out of the book and, interestingly, John Gosden has decided to declare Dartford in the race as a pacemaker for his St Leger hero.

A truly run Geoffrey Freer Stakes looks guaranteed with Dartford and habitual leader Harris Tweed among the seven runners, which will suit Masked Marvel and provide the four-year-old son of Montjeu with the best possible opportunity to return to winning ways after four outs.

Theoretically, Brown Panther has three lengths to find on Masked Marvel and, while Mount Athos is a very interesting competitor, the reason that Luca Cumani has sent him to Newbury for this race instead of York for the Ebor has everything to do with qualifying for the Melbourne Cup.

An Ebor victory probably would not assist Mount Athos in getting into the Melbourne Cup field, whereas a win in a Group Three staying contest probably would help.

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19/08/2012     © Frixo 2024