Future Stars Out At Last

Ian Heitman enjoyed a stellar month for two-year-old racing

- Ian Heitman

The small number of people allowed into Royal Ascot and Newmarket’s July Meeting were lucky enough to witness some top-class racing, Stradivarius winning a third Gold Cup and Oxted winning the July Cup my two highlights.

Newmarket July Festival

As for the two-year-olds, two of the six Royal Ascot winners, Tactical and Dandalla, tried to add to their Ascot successes at Newmarket in the July Stakes and Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes respectively.

Tactical faced eight rivals in the Group 2 July Stakes including Yazaman who was a length and a quarter behind Tactical in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes. Coventry Stakes runner up Qaader was sent off the 15-8 favourite for Mark Johnston and Jim Crowley with Tactical at 5-2. Aidan O’Brien’s once raced impressive winner, Swiss Ace was at 9-2.

Quader set a good pace in front and tried to make all of the runnings but was headed by Yazaman over a furlong from the finish and he could keep on only at the one pace after that. Yazaman was challenged for the lead inside the final furlong by Tactical who took the lead with 100 yards to go and stayed on well to beat Yazaman by the same margin as at Ascot, a length and a quarter. Escape Route, a 33-1 shot from the Richard Fahey yard, stayed on well to third ahead of Qaader with Swiss Ace also one-paced in fifth.

Tactical will up stepped up to Group 1 company next time, in the Prix Morny at Deauville on August 23. Yazaman is a smart colt and will be found a suitable race by William Haggas with the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York an ideal race for him, a race Haggas has won three times. Escape Route and Qaader would also be suited by the 6f of the Gimcrack.