An Acomb For Watan
Juvenile Watan will look to impress in the Gr.3 Acomb with a giant step up in class. The Acomb Stakes is one of the two headline races of the first day of the Ebor York Festival.
Charlie Hills trained Phoenix Of Spain also has a lot going for him and could be one to take the lead. Mark Johnston has come up trumps with Silvestre De Sousa riding Persian Moon. O'Brien's Broome also offers hope. Here is our first take on each runner in the race.
1. Broome - Aidan O'Brien/Ryan Moore: Broome has come a long way since his debut to take a race at the Galway Festival.
2. James Street - Hugo Palmer/James Doyle: Palmer only brings in a horse if there is every chance he can win,even if its a 2YO. James Street has two wins from three races and is vastly improved beating a Charlie Hills horse.
3. Persian Moon - Mark Johnston/Silvestre De Sousa: He has won on C&D but will need speed at his beck and call, if he wants to best this field. He has had two wins from four runs.
4. Phoenix Of Spain - Charlie Hills/Jamie Spencer: Hills has kept him quiet for the longest time. He won his last start, a low key novice event at Wolverhampton.
5. Pogo - Charlie Hills/Callum Shepherd: With a name like Pogo, a bit of a jump is expected from the colt. But he has been quite exposed with five runs with one win. However, a huge jump in class is needed from him to win this Group race.
6. Swissterious - Karl Burke/PJ McDonald: This may be Karl Burke trump card for the years, but the question remains whether the kid can hack it in this one?
7. Ventura Ocean - Richard Fahey/Paul Hanagan: Although great things are expected from him, he will need to improve vastly to win in this august company.
8. Watan - Richard Hannon/Oisin Murphy: Unbeaten after winning his only start in taking fashion at Glorious Goodwood. Has seen strong support through the week. Can he prove the naysayers wrong and win this one??
1st Wells Farhh Go (T. Easterby ,D. Allan), 2nd James Garfield (G. Scott ,F. Dettori), 3rd Lansky (J. Noseda ,G. Mosse), 4th Zaaki (M. Moubarak,J. Crowley), 5th Danzan (A. Balding,D. Probert), 6th Dee Ex Bee (M. Johnston,J. Doyle), 7th Beatbox Rhythm (K. Burke,P. McDonald), 8th Jazeel (M. Channon ,A. Atzeni), 9th Fleet Review (A. O'Brien ,R. Moore), 10th Ulshaw Bridge (J. Bethell ,D. Tudhope), 11th Chief Justice (R. Fahey ,P. Hanagan)
1.Broome (A. O'Brien ,R. Moore), 2. James Street (H. Palmer ,J. Doyle), 3. Persian Moon (M. Johnston ,S. Sousa ), 4. Phoenix Of Spain (C. Hills ,J. Spencer), 5. Pogo (C. Hills ,C. Shepherd), 6. Swissterious (K. Burke ,P. McDonald), 7. Ventura Ocean (R. Fahey ,P. Hanagan), 8. Watan (R. Hannon, Jr.,O. Murphy)
Distance: 7f (1,408 metres), Surface: Turf, Track: Left-hand elbow, Qualification: Two-year-olds,exc. winners before 12 July,Weight: 9 st 1 lb,Allowances,3 lb for fillies,Penalties,5 lb for G1 / G2 winners,3 lb for G3 winners, Purse: £100,000 (2018),1st: £56,710
Credit: Ritesh Jamkhedkar ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com