Indestructible

Craven winner Indestructible (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) will bid to bounce back from a disappointing effort in the 2,000 Guineas when lining out for the G1 St. James's Palace S. at Royal Ascot later this month.  The Karl Burke-trained colt could only manage 10th behind Chaldean (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in the Guineas, where the testing ground is reported to have been against Amo Racing's runner.  Spokesman for the operation, Tom Pennington said, "He's come out of the Guineas very well. The ground probably didn't play to his strengths at Newmarket. We've...

At Newmarket last Tuesday, a fellow racegoer suggested that the racecourse really should up its game in encouraging more people to attend the Craven meeting. I disagreed politely. For a start, there was a decent enough crowd there, enough for atmosphere but not so many that it was tricky to manoeuvre between pre-parade ring, parade ring and racecourse. And secondly, marketing a midweek meeting accompanied by Arctic temperatures just as many people have returned to work and school after the Easter holidays is not the easiest task. I know we...

There is no doubt that, in general, Newmarket's G3 Craven S. has lost much of its former relevance as a 2000 Guineas trial, but in the last two years it has enjoyed a revival with winners Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) and Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) going close in the mile Classic. Godolphin and Charlie Appleby have another leading man this time in the GI Summer S. and G3 Prix Francois Boutin scorer Mysterious Night (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}), but the one that really catches the...