Whatever happened on Future Champions' Day, it was never likely to win over those who are still opposed to running the Dewhurst and the Middle Park on the same card. However, even the most vociferous of critics to the change of the autumn programme would be forced to concede that Newmarket played host to one of the strongest single-day cards held all season and the two feature races provided a decisive winner and an exciting finish between them.
The presence of Dawn Approach scared off most of the opposition in the Dewhurst, a six-runner field the joint-smallest since Distant Music beat four rivals in 1999, and he maintained his unbeaten record to land the odds. Rated 121p coming into the race, Dawn Approach barely improved on his National Stakes form, earning a figure of 122p at Newmarket.
Unlike some small-field events, the Dewhurst proved relatively straightforward to rate. Race standards gave a range of 122-127 for the winner, so Dawn Approach has been rated on the conservative side, also recording a timefigure of 122.
Leitir Mor gave Jim Bolger a one-two, and stepped up markedly on anything he'd done in a busy campaign previously, improving from 100 to 113. He certainly wasn't the only horse at the meeting to run very well having raced prominently on the stands rail, but the timefigure provides enough substance to his effort to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.
A figure of 122p sees Dawn Approach remain at the head of Timeform's juvenile pecking order, but he's not yet achieved the level required to win an average Two Thousand Guineas, a median rating of 124 required over the last five seasons to win the first classic of the year, though with Dawn Approach looking likely to relish the step up in trip to a mile, there's certainly room for more improvement in him.
Although also a Group 1, the level required to win the Middle Park is usually below that for the Dewhurst and that again proved the case. With the winners of the Morny, Mill Reef, Gimcrack and Richmond all in opposition though, the Middle Park was certainly a representative field.
Rather like Dawn Approach in the Dewhurst, Reckless Abandon came into the race as an unbeaten Group 1 winner, and he maintained that record, just holding off the progressive Moohaajim by a neck, with another neck back to Gale Force Ten in third.
Race standards for the Middle Park give range for the winner of 111-120, with the median at 114, but in part due to the timefigure, Reckless Abandon has been rated 117, 1 lb higher than his pre-race figure. Prior-rating standards would point to even higher.
Moohaajim got much closer than in the Morny but Reckless Abandon again had his measure, but it is the runner-up that is taken to do better next year and he keeps the 'p' symbol alongside his 116 rating. Gale Force Ten showed improvement as he got closer to Reckless Abandon than when runner-up in the Norfolk, improving to 115.
Cristoforo Columbo also shaped well in fourth. He finished behind subsequent Group 1 winners Dawn Approach and Olympic Glory in the Coventry but hasn't really had the rub of the green since. His effort here suggests six furlongs is an inadequate test now, but he should still be viewed in a positive light with a view to stepping up in trip, and his rating is 113p.
The other two pattern races for juveniles from the Newmarket card were the Autumn Stakes and the Rockfel. The Autumn Stakes in particular looked a strong renewal, certainly in terms of potential, and Trading Leather put up a smart effort as he battled back to hold off Montiridge, the pair pulling three lengths clear. Trading Leather earned a rise in his rating to 111p and Montiridge up to 109p, the former paying a further compliment to RP Trophy-bound Battle of Marengo.
The juvenile fillies continue to lack a real top-notcher and that was again in evidence in the Rockfel even though the unbeaten Just The Judge emerged victorious. She has a rating of 105p and is open to further improvement, as she'll need to be with Certify on 113 currently setting the standard. Runner-up Nargys was unlucky not to make her work harder having lost momentum at a crucial stage, and she's been rated closer than the bare result, earning a new figure of 103.
The big betting contest of the day was the Cesarewitch, and it went the way of 66/1 outsider Aaim To Prosper. Winless since successful in the race two years ago, Aaim To Prosper became the first horse to win the race on more than one occasion, defying top-weight and a mark 20 lb higher than in 2010 and recording a career-best rating of 120.
There's no suggestion that Aaim To Prosper is flattered as such, but perhaps he needs a race like the Cesarewitch to show his best. Indeed, had he run to this level on the 12 outings he's had in listed/Group company since his 2010 win, he'd have won 11 of them. With that considered, there's definitely a strong case for suggesting that he's not the pattern-race winner waiting to happen his new rating might suggest.
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