Talaayeb to lord it at Newbury
TALAAYEB is unlikely to be much of a price in the Lord Weinstock Memorial EBF Stallions Stakes at Newbury but it will be a huge surprise if she is beaten in the Listed heat.
Owen Burrows’ charge is head and shoulders above her rivals, boasting upwards of 23lb in hand on official ratings, and while the step up to 10 furlongs is an unknown, connections expect it to suit.
Talaayeb’s dam, Rumoush, finished third in the Oaks and was placed in the Park Hill at Doncaster so stamina is certainly not at a premium on the distaff side and her two runs so far offer plenty of confidence in her ability to go the distance.
A winner over seven furlongs on her only juvenile start, Burrows opted to head straight to the 1000 Guineas with her in the spring and she ran an excellent race to finish fourth.
Beaten three and a half lengths by Winter, Talaayeb hardly had a dream passage and perhaps just lacked that extra bit of a kick over a mile in the finish.
The fact she was staying on that day offers plenty of hope she can make her mark over middle distances, and even granted just moderate improvement for the run, Talaayeb will still take a world of beating.
Capton is an interesting contender as he drops back to a mile in the Comax Handicap.
The four-year-old has seen only limited action for Henry Candy so far, with three outings at the backend of last year after making a belated start to his racecourse career.
He showed some promise in those runs though, finishing second to an odds-on shot on his debut over 10 furlongs, before also placing over a mile and a half on his final start that October.
Dropped to a mile and a quarter on his return this season, Capton was beaten just a short head at Windsor in April after trying to make virtually all the running before being shaded out on the line.
Given is related to some reasonable seven-furlong horses, it makes sense for Candy to look at a shorter trip for his charge and as front-running tactics appeared to suit last time, he can make a similarly prominent role pay dividends.