Weekend Preview/Review / Timeform / 25 September 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet View Market

Timeform look ahead to next week's racing which includes a highly competitive Cambridgeshire meeting at Newmarket...

"John Gosden holds a strong hand in his bid to make it three Cambridgeshire winners in the last four renewals courtesy of Nationalism..."

Sunday 26th September

The highlight of day three of Ascot's QEII meeting is the Group 2 Diadem Stakes over six furlongs, and the race has attracted a quality field featuring the likes of Kingsgate Native, Dalghar and Lady of the Desert. There is also Group 3 action over a mile and a half in the shape of the Cumberland Lodge Stakes, a race won last year by Mawatheeq, who finished second in the Champion Stakes on his next outing.

There is also good racing at the Curragh where the focus of attention will be the Group 2 Beresford Stakes over a mile for two-year-old colts. Top two-year-old St Nicholas Abbey won the race last year en route to success in the Racing Post Trophy, while the year before Sea The Stars was victorious. The day's other pattern races is the Group 3 C L Weld Park Stakes over seven furlongs for juvenile fillies, while there are also a pair of premier handicaps on the card, notably the two-mile Irish Cesarewitch.

Thursday 30th September

The Group 3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes over seven furlongs for two-year-old colts is the highlight on the first day of Newmarket's Cambridgeshire meeting. Though the race hasn't been a great pointer to future starts in recent years, it did go the way of subsequent French Guineas winner Aussie Rules in 2005.

Friday 1st October

The quality steps up a notch at Newmarket on Friday, where there are a pair of six-furlong Group 1s for juveniles. The Cheveley Park Stakes has proved a good guide to the next season's 1000 Guineas, with Special Duty and Natagora both having doubled up in recent years. The Middle Park has been less reliable as an indicator of classic potential, but it has still gone the way of some high-class horses, and connections of the likes of Strong Suit and Dream Ahead will home their colts can follow in that tradition. There are also a couple of Group 3 events on the card, namely the Joel Stakes over a mile and the Oh So Sharp Stakes over seven furlongs for two-year-old fillies.

Saturday 2nd October

The Cambridgeshire is one of the year's big betting handicaps, and this year's renewal is set to be typically competitive. John Gosden holds a strong hand in his bid to make it three winners of the race in the last four renewals courtesy of Nationalism, though he will face stiff competition from Start Right, whose trainer Luca Cumani last saddled the winner of the race in 1986. The day's sole Group 1 at HQ is the Sun Chariot Stakes over a mile for fillies and mares, while the card kicks off with two very valuable sales races for juveniles.

Redcar also stages one of its better meetings of the year, with a pair of listed races on offer, notably the six-furlong Two-Year-Old Trophy.

Saturday is also the first day of the Arc meeting at Longchamp, and there are a total of four Group 2 events on the card.

Tags: Cambridgeshire, Cheveley Park Stakes, Middle Park Stakes, Newmarket