New Bay

New Bay was probably the horse to take out of the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp on Sunday.

Terribly-drawn in stall 16 of 18 in a race in which a low draw is historically crucial, the Juddmonte colt was dropped in through the early stages by rider Vincent Cheminaud. He was stone last of the 18 runners when they started to turn for home, but he was still giving away ground, travelling around the bend four or five horse-widths off the inside rail. Still last as they straightened for home, he moved inside Muhaarar and then moved into the clear. He still had 14 or 15 of his rivals in front of him as they passed the 400-metre mark, but he picked up impressively from there, finishing best of all to take second place, albeit four lengths behind the winner. To put the magnitude of the speed that he displayed in the finish into contest, he started his run from the same point at which Greenham Stakes winner Muhaarar started his, and he finished around four lengths in front of the Hamdan Al Maktoum colt. It was a big performance from a hold-up horse in a race that was run to suit the prominent racers.

Beaten when favourite over a mile on the Polytrack at Chantilly last November on his only run at two, the Andre Fabre-trained colt won a conditions race on his debut this season over Sunday's course and distance. He had fellow Poulains contenders Tale Of Life and Borsakov behind him in second and third that day, but he was receiving 9lb from both those rivals, so he had to step up on the bare form of that run if he was even to confirm placings with them on Sunday. He obviously improved significantly for his seasonal debut, with Tale Of Life and Borsakov finishing 13th and 15th respectively on Sunday, and he should improve again for Sunday's run, just his third ever. By Dubawi, his dam won over a mile, and she is a half-sister to the talented Bellamy Cay, who won listed and Group 3 races over a mile and four furlongs, and who won the Group 2 Prix Maurice de Nieuil over a mile and six. He obviously has the pace for a mile, but he might be even better stepped up to 10 furlongs. His pedigree suggests as much, and the strength with which he finished off his race on Sunday backs up the notion. It is interesting that his trainer thought enough of him to give him an entry in the St James's Palace Stakes and in the Eclipse.

10th May 2015

Back