Abstinence to hit the target in Beckford
Abstinence is of clear interest as she returns from a break for the British Stallion Studs EBF Beckford Stakes at Bath tomorrow.
Down the field on her racecourse introduction at Lingfield in December, Ralph Beckett’s filly was a surprise winner on her three-year-old debut at Chelmsford in May, but has since proved that effort was no fluke whatsoever.
The daughter of Lope De Vega was thrown in at the deep end on her next start when stepped up to Group Three level for Newcastle’s Hoppings Stakes, but justified her place in the field by staying on late in the day to finish fourth behind subsequent Nassau runner-up Zeyaadah.
Abstinence was last seen finishing on the heels of two other high-class fillies in Golden Pass and Free Wind in the Aphrodite Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket in July, having since refused to enter the stalls prior to the Galtres Stakes at York.
Provided that issue does not raise its head again, Beckett’s charge looks to have been found a good opportunity to get some winning black type to her name in this Listed event, with a step up to a mile and three-quarters expected to suit.
Brides Bay can make it third time lucky in the EBF Novice Stakes. The Richard Hughes-trained juvenile chased home the very promising Sense Of Duty on her first career start at Newbury.
She looked likely to go one better on her second attempt at Wolverhampton, but after navigating her way to the lead, she was mowed down in the final strides and passed the post fourth in a blanket finish. If Pat Dobbs can deliver his challenge a little later, she should prove hard to beat.
Hughes might also be among the winners at Kempton, with recent Wolverhampton scorer Nelson Gay fancied to follow up in the Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Handicap, while Raasel is on a hat-trick for Mick Appleby in the Bet At racingtv.com Handicap at Nottingham.
Despite shaping with promise in two starts for Marcus Tregoning and the Shadwell team, the son of Showcasing changed hands for the relatively modest fee of 10,000 guineas last year and has proved another shrewd purchase by his current connections.
The four-year-old is just the type of animal with which his trainer excels – and while his first few efforts were nothing special, he has returned from a summer break in flying form – scoring at both Goodwood and over this course and distance last month.
Although the winning margin of his latest triumph was less than a length, he won with a degree of authority and a 5lb hike might not be enough to prevent him from adding to his tally.