ferguson

My ten to follow to make a profit this season

ALARGEDRAM (Alan King)

A three-year-old son of Lope de Vega, Alargedram ran three times as a juvenile and shaped with plenty of promise the last twice, most recently at Windsor in October. Having stayed on well over a mile, he looks ready for the step up to middle-distances and should be capable of winning races this year. Given an opening mark of 72, it could be that he comes into his own in handicap company, and having been gelded since last seen, it could be that he is juvenile hurdling come the autumn, too. He was due to run at Haydock recently, but had to be withdrawn after an incident in the stalls.

DOMINO DARLING (William Haggas)

A daughter of Golden Horn (carries the same silks of Anthony Oppenheimer), Domino Darling looked a really nice prospect when winning a Doncaster maiden in late-October. Given her pedigree, it wasn’t a surprise that she handled the heavy ground that day, and she wore down the longtime leader Gold Wand (impressive recent winner) with several in behind winning subsequently and advertising the form. She could make up into a really smart middle-distance filly this season.

Domino Darling was due to make her reappearance in the Listed Adingdon Stakes at Newbury recently, but had to be pulled out due to a bad scope.

DULAS (Charles Hills)

A winner at the third time of asking as a juvenile, Dulas appreciated the drop in distance to 6f having raced keenly on his first two starts. The Raven’s Pass colt bolted up at Newcastle in December and begins the season on a mark of 83, from which he is fancied to land a nice prize or two. He is the type of horse who Charlie Hills tends to excel with, and it will be disappointing if he can’t add to his tally this term.

Dulas made his reappearance at Doncaster just before this month’s issue of Racing Ahead went to print, when he was dropped in over 7f. I would like to see him back down in trip and allowed to stride on, tactics which appeared to suit ideally at Newcastle.

ENGLISH KING (Ed Walker)

Another who shed his maiden tag at Newcastle last back-end, English King had made an encouraging debut behind the potentially smart Trefoil at Newmarket, and duly appreciated the step up to 10 furlongs on his second

Goshen is now rated 158 as a hurdler, yet can return to the level on an appealing mark of 88

start. The Camelot colt stayed on strongly to score, really finding his stride up the home straight, and the runner-up franked the form by winning next time, at Wolverhampton. He looked a really nice prospect for middle distances and beyond (and did form part of my original 10 to feature in the May edition of Racing Ahead), and he duly confirmed the promise when running out a hugely impressive winner of Lingfield’s Derby Trial. He looks set to head to Epsom with sound claims.

GOSHEN (Gary Moore)

Following his run in the Triumph Hurdle – when he was set to run out a clear-cut winner before coming down after the final flight – Goshen is now rated 158 as a hurdler, yet can return to the level on an appealing mark of 88. The winner of his final three starts on the Flat last season, he remains completely unexposed as a stayer, and should have little trouble in picking up from where he left off from that rating. Given his liking for soft ground, he won’t be seen until later in the

season, when he will be a force in the leading staying handicaps, before he heads down the Champion Hurdle route.

HIGHEST GROUND (Sir Michael Stoute)

A debut winner at Leicester last September, Highest Ground came from last-to-first having completely missed the break. Given the ground he gave away, the Frankel colt did exceptionally well to win in the manner which he did, marking himself down as a potentially smart sort for this season. The form was later advertised when Dulas (see above) won impressively at Newcastle, and he is an exciting prospect for Sir Michael Stoute and the Niarchos Family. Although he is a possible for the Derby and the Irish equivalent, he could prove at his best over slightly shorter.

MANUCCI (Amanda Perrett)

Another four-year-old who could revert to the Flat following a stint over hurdles, Manucci actually twice chased home Goshen, and won well at Fontwell in between. Runner-up on his final start under the winter code at Warwick, the imposing son of Nathaniel won a soft-ground handicap at Bath last October, and is another who looks to have more to offer when switching back to the level. That victory at Bath came over 1m3 ½ f and he threatens to improve again, once upped to 1m5f or beyond. Manucci will return to action on a mark of 74 and is another to follow in staying handicaps, a division in which Amanda Perrett has done well over the years.

SOLAR SCREEN (Roger Varian)

The first of two Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum-owned maidens, Solar Screen shaped well on debut, when sixth at Newmarket (also in the maiden won by Trefoil, where he finished one place ahead of the aforementioned English King). Another Golden Horn colt, the grey shaped really well and should be difficult to beat in a maiden during the coming weeks, before he can go on to bigger and better things.

THRONE HALL (Kevin Ryan)

In the same famous yellow and black silks, Throne Hall also ran just once as a two-year-old, and he also shaped with plenty of promise when third at Haydock in August. The Kingman colt hails from a good family – being a halfbrother to both Appeared and Apparate – and like that pairing, he should appreciate going up in distance. They were at their best over 12 furlongs and whilst it could be that Throne Hall is best at around 1m2f, he looks more than capable of winning a maiden on his reappearance, before developing into a useful performer in the North.

WALDKONIG (John Gosden)

Another three-year-old who created a striking impression on his racecourse debut, Waldkonig swept wide into the straight when winning by nine lengths at Wolverhampton in December. Beautifully-bred – being a half-brother to Arc winner Waldgeist – the son of Kingman cost 600,000gns as a yearling and he looked a top-class prospect. Despite looking distinctly green and hanging on the home bend when asked to pick up, he drew right away and left the impression that he will improve significantly for the experience. I have left him in the list, despite him making a rather disappointing recent reappearance in the Listed Newmarket Stakes. He never looked comfortable, whether that was the track or the quick ground, but he did look very exciting at Wolverhampton.