29th-Jul-2011

I like Western Aristocrat, his run in the Jersey Stakes was eye-catching, but so do a lot of other people it appears, and best odds of 13/8 about him for this race are too short. He may well win, but he shouldn’t be as far in front of some of his rivals in the market as he is, and he is a take-on horse for me at the price.

I thought that Neebras would be favourite, and he is the bet at 4/1. He is a little in and out, and Tazahum did beat him in a listed race at Sandown in May, but the ground was on the easy side that day, which didn’t suit the Godolphin horse. He is at his best when he can rattle along on fast ground, which he will have today.

On his previous run, he ran out a most impressive winner of a conditions race at Newmarket, and on his subsequent run he finished fourth to Frankel, beaten a total of just two and a half lengths, in the St James’s Palace Stakes. He was almost certainly flattered in getting so close to Frankel, but he was only a length and a half behind Zoffany, and that horse was only beaten a head in the Group 1 Prix Jean Prat on his next run. Neebras finished last of six in that Prix Jean Prat under Mickael Barzalona, but that wasn’t his running, it was too bad to be true, and it is significant that the Godolphin team have brought him back here so quickly.

It is also significant that Frankie Dettori is back on board. Frankie has ridden him five times, and he has run his race four times, the exception being Tazahum’s race at Sandown when the ground was too soft. As well as that, he won his maiden at Goodwood impressively, so he obviously handles the track well. He is a little risky, he could spit the dummy out, but he has the winning of this on his best form. Tazahum and Chef are both highly likeable sorts, but they just may not have Neebras’s class, and at 4/1 he is worth chancing.

NEEBRAS WON (ADV 4/1, SP 4/1)