Desert Castle short-priced favourite for Dewhurst Stakes
Many champions have emerged from Newmarket’s G1 Dewhurst Stakes (1400m), historically the most significant two-year-old race of the British season.
Saturday’s 1400m encounter, with a history that goes back to 1875, is just a five-runner affair, but in the Charlie Appleby-trained likely favourite Desert Castle (1.40) and Aidan O’Brien’s Darkness Falls (2.80 with betting sites) are two colts who could light up the Rowley Mile this weekend and set themselves up for Classic glory next season.
Most past Dewhurst winners had more racing experience than twice-raced Desert Castle, a long-striding son of Frankel. But he has oozed class on both recent starts when delivering a last-to-first winning surge in the G2 Champagne Stakes (1405m) over a similar trip at Doncaster last month. Sergei Diaghilev, three-length second that day, competes in the earlier G3 Autumn Stakes (1600m) seeking to amplify that Champagne Stakes form.
MORE: Horse racing in the United Kingdom
Billy Loughnane piloted Desert Castle then and warned there was more improvement to come.
“He was very raw but there was plenty left in the tank at the end,” he said.
On Saturday, Desert Castle will be in the hands of William Buick, who has partnered three winning favourites to Dewhurst victory in the past 10 years, all trained by Appleby. Meanwhile, Loughnane will pilot stablemate Jassas, now up in class having won two of his three starts.
Eight-time Dewhurst-winning trainer O’Brien is also double-handed with Great Barrier Reef – winner of three of his four starts – joining Darkness Falls, who clocked a fast time when romping away from his eight rivals in the G1 HKJC World Pool Golden Fleece Stakes (1800m) at Leopardstown last month. Of that smooth transition to G1 company on his third career start, O’Brien said: “There was no hiding place for him at Leopardstown – it was a proper gallop. He showed a lot of class.”
The Cesarewitch – the last of the five World Pool races – is a Newmarket handicap over a marathon 3600m and has an even longer history than the Dewhurst. Much attention is being paid to the chances of last year’s first and second Beylerbeyi (Loughnane) and Ryan Moore’s mount Dawn Rising, both having clearly targeted Saturday’s iconic handicap with its 29 declared runners.
It is extremely rare for a horse to win this twice, but Beylerbeyi’s prospects were ignited when Caballo De Mar – who had to work hard to fend him off in the G2 Doncaster Cup (3579m) last month – went on to nail G1 glory over champion stayer Scandinavia in ParisLongchamp’s G1 Prix du Cadran (4000m) last weekend. Ian Williams, Beylerbeyi’s trainer, said: “It wasn’t just a one-off performance at Doncaster, and it was great to see the form franked when Caballo De Mar went and won in France.”
