Ryan Moore: Kipps has a leading chance on second day of Newmarket's July Festival

Ryan Moore
09 July 2020

Ryan Moore has a further five rides on the second day of Newmarket's July Festival

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Newmarket has had some rain in the last 24 hours and any more would be a worry for a few of Ryan Moore's rides on Friday, but he also has some good chances elsewhere on the card...

"He has a leading chance in a very competitive race, and the first-time blinkers could well help him, looking at his two performances this season."

- Ryan Moore on Kipps

Potential to be better than his current mark

12:10 - Eastern Sheriff

I know it was only a four-runner race at Ripon last time, but the handicapper could have put him up by more than 7lb for that wide-margin win. He is a brother to the St Leger winner Harbour Law, and clearly has the potential to rate a fair bit higher than his current mark. That said, so do most of the others in here and it looks a strong handicap.

We haven't lost faith but this is a very good race

14:25 - More Beautiful

We obviously went to Royal Ascot with very high hopes for her after an impressive debut win at Naas, but she didn't fire as expected. She jumped out well and we got a prominent position on the near side, but she never really travelled as strongly as I would have wished at any stage and she didn't pick up as expected. She probably wasn't ideally positioned on the track as the race panned out, but it was a disappointing effort considering what she did on her debut.

And that Naas success has worked out too, with the third and fifth scoring next time out, as well as three others winners already coming out of the race.

She is a beautifully bred War Front filly, out of the top class juvenile Maybe, and we haven't lost faith in her yet, and the extra furlong won't be an issue. It's a very good race though, with Dandalla the clear form choice going into the race after running away with the Albany Stakes and plenty of others like Time Scale on the upgrade.

He's got a chance but the less rain the better

15:00 - Themaxwecan

The less rain the better for him. His best efforts have come on decent or quick ground, and he arrives here on the back of a good fourth over 1m6f at Royal Ascot. He is off a career-high mark of 103 here but he ran well on the July course last year and has to have his chance in a competitive race if the ground doesn't ease too much.

Still has races in him off this mark and has a big chance

15:35 - Kipps

He has hit the bar on a couple of occasions this season, and has gone up 5lb for his second in the King George V handicap at Royal Ascot last time, but you suspect he still has races in him off his revised mark. Maybe the step back down to 1m2f will suit this smooth traveller, but there was no disgrace in his Ascot second over 1m4f to an unexposed and lightly-raced winner. He has a leading chance in a very competitive race, and the first-time blinkers could well help him, looking at his two performances this season.

Top class filly will give these a race if rain stays away

16:10 - Magic Wand

Once again, only a relatively small field but this Group 1 will take a lot of winning with the likes of Terebellum and improvers like Nazeef in the line-up. The recent rain is not ideal for her, as she likes it fast, but she is just a tremendously versatile and top-class filly. She has done it all around the world, and she clearly ran another great race when fourth in the Eclipse on Sunday.

She won her Group 2 at the Curragh on her return over a mile, so she will cope with the step back in trip, and she showed she can perform after a very quick turnaround when winning the Mackinnon for me in Flemington last year just four days after running in the Melbourne Cup. She will give these all a race, especially if the ground rides okay. More rain would worry me, even if she handles soft.

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