Eye on the prize
EYE OF HEAVEN was a disappointment at Royal Ascot, but his supporters can regain some of their losses if they keep the faith in the National Stakes at Sandown.
Mark Johnston’s charge was a hot favourite for the Norfolk Stakes after securing an impressive debut win at the beginning of June, with subsequent Windsor Castle and July Stakes scorer Tactical back in third.
However, Eye Of Heaven could not match that performance on the big day in Berkshire as he was beaten 11 lengths in ninth by The Lir Jet.
The Exceed And Excel colt raced keenly at Ascot and after being to the fore through the first four furlongs, he dropped away in the closing stages, with connections citing the soft ground as a reason for the run.
Better conditions are in prospect at Sandown and it may well be too early to write him off.
Saieqa is another to have lined up at Ascot, where he ran a cracker to finish third to shock winner Nando Parrado in the Coventry Stakes.
Third on his initial outing at Newmarket, Saieqa was sent off a 25-1 shot in the Coventry and made late progress to take third, just over two lengths down on the winner.
John Gosden’s charge never really looked like winning, but given the way he stayed on the decision to switch up to seven furlongs in the Esher EBF Novice Stakes looks an obvious move ahead of likely bigger targets.
Magic J is becoming a bit frustrating to follow with four placed efforts in his last four runs, but his time can come in the Datchet Handicap.
Beaten half a length in second at Wolverhampton last time, the verdict could so easily have been different if Magic J had not got a significant bump at the start, leaving him a bit further off the pace than ideal.
A 3lb rise seems a bit harsh, but the temptation is to give him another chance.
Subjectivist has hit the frame in two starts so far this term, but he can take Listed honours in the Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton.
Mark Johnston’s charge started his 2020 campaign at Royal Ascot, where he was certainly not disgraced in finishing a close-up third to Hukum in the King George V Stakes.
That was his first start for 249 days so progress would have been expected ahead of his next start, but unfortunately he bumped into a wellbacked favourite in Favorite Moon over 14 furlongs at Haydock.
Beaten a length, Subjectivist had no luck in running as he was hampered and carried badly right after a couple of furlongs, with the effort to make up lost ground perhaps just telling in the finish.
The assessor clearly felt Subjectivist had turned in a decent effort nevertheless, bumping him up 6lb to a perch of 103, which gives him a handy advantage under the conditions of this race.
ENGLAND have dropped batsman Joe Denly for the second Test against the West Indies, starting today.
Captain Joe Root returns at Emirates Old Trafford following the arrival of his second child, while 34-year-old Denly will not be involved.
An average of 29.53 after 15 Tests, with no centuries, left the Kent batsman vulnerable and a confident knock of 76 from county team-mate Zak Crawley effectively sealed his fate during the four-wicket defeat at the Ageas Bowl.
Root said: “It’s never an easy decision, never easy having to leave someone out.
“With Joe over a period of time he’s done a brilliant job for us, he’s helped show our identity as a side and how we played moving forward. It’s a very difficult decision but we’ve gone a different way.
“You watch Zak’s progression since he’s been involved in the team, his game has continued to get stronger.
“Joe is someone who has done a fantastic job for us over a period of time and he’ll be as frustrated as anyone that he’s not been able to covert those opportunities.”
England are still carrying an expanded training group of 22 – seamer Saqib Mahmood having been moved across to the white-ball squad – and have yet to cut it down to tighter matchday squad.
“There are a few things that need clearing up slightly so until we’re in a position I don’t want to talk too much about it, otherwise I’ll end up saying something that I shouldn’t,” said a tight-lipped Root.
Root was an avid viewer of last week’s action, barely missing a beat in the match despite having his new paternal duties and some batting practice of his own to tick off.
And while he was reluctant to critique too much of what he saw, he does believe his team-mates are ready to dial up their performance levels after blowing away a few lockdown cobwebs.
“It wasn’t quite every ball, I had to go and hit some balls myself at certain points, but I did watch a lot of it,” he said.
“I don’t want to be too much of an armchair critic, sat at home watching the game and not being there, but sure having a game under the belt going into this one will be a help.
“The rhythm of our innings second time around was better, it looked like we were in the game a little bit more.
“That’s what I looked like on TV anyway and I expect that to go up another notch this week. It was a different experience and quite hard in some ways.
“You want to be there and you want to be involved and after playing 80 odd games on the bounce it was hard to sit there and watch every ball knowing you can’t really affect things.”
Stuart Broad is set to make his England return at Old Trafford, with James Anderson and Mark Wood being rested. Chris Woakes is also expected to return