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All times BST
There’s Group 1 racing at Newmarket this Saturday with the Dewhurst (15:00) set to take place and, most likely, crown the best juvenile colt in Europe.
We’ll come to that later, as we have plenty of Stakes action beforehand. The card opens with the Group 3 Darley Stakes (13:15), which sees Haatem – who won the Mint Millions Invitational Stakes last month under now US-based jockey Jamie Spencer – return to British shores. He’s pretty exposed but is right there on ratings. The improving The Lost King heads the betting, but the most interesting runner by far is Haatem’s ownermate Humidity, who was last seen chasing home Guineas winner Bow Echo at this track last September. He’s been gelded since and has the potential to be a Group 1 horse still.
The Zetland Stakes (13:50) is typically an early Derby trial although it’s difficult to see any of this field being up to that level at this stage. Drumbeat looks to have the most potential, having been brought along steadily by Aidan O’Brien. He’s got the best form and probably has the most scope too, so it’s no surprise that he’s currently odds-on.
The Autumn Stakes (14:25) has a bit more depth to it. Rock Montreal and Segei Diaghilev set a fair standard, while Al Jabbar and Sole Ambition have abundant potential. Don’t rule out Notable Dream either, who arguably has the best form and may get an easy lead.
The race after which the meeting is named, the Cesarewitch, takes place at 15:40, with 29 runners going to post for this 18 furlong handicap test. This is as wide open as you’d expected given that, but the most interesting runner in the field looks to be Sea Lantern, who’s only had 4 runs and looked a dour stayer when winning at Pontefract last time out. He’s got a nice low weight and could be miles better than a mark of 89 if he improves for extreme distances.
Finally, the race of the day is the aforementioned Dewhurst Stakes. The unbeaten Desert Castle has looked pretty special so far and is odds-on for this as he faces Darkness Falls, who drops in trip having won a Group 1 over 9 furlongs last time out and could easily enhance his Derby claims in defeat. The market suggests this is a match.
