Newmarket Cambridgeshire Meeting: day one

Newmarket´s first big meeting of the autumn starts today on the Rowley course, and although the card is better tomorrow and even better on Saturday, today´s racing is also of interest, with the Group Three Somerville Tattersall Stakes for 2yo´ s over 7 furlongs at 16.40 CET the main event. Richard Hannon has his juveniles in great form and can take this with Havana Gold (Richard Hughes), who has won 3 of his 4 starts and was unlucky on the other, when his saddle slipped at Deauville. Hannon also saddles Glean (Pat Dobbs), but Havana Gold is readily preferred, and the main danger could come from Irish raider Canary Row (Patrick Prendergast/ William Buick), who has run some good races, notably when twice runner-up to Dawn Approach, probably the best 2yo seen out in Eiurope this year.

There are also two listed races on thecard, and there could well be a royal victory in the 1 1/2 miles event for fillies and mares at 16.10, as both the Queen´s runners Set to Music (Michael Bell/ Jamie Spencer) and Sequence (Sir Michael Stoute/ Richard Hughes) have good prospects. French hope Jehannedarc (Alain de Royer-Dupre/ Antoine Hamelin) could be a threat of his rider times things right (not always the case, as we saw at Cologne on Sunday), and on a line through Wild Coco, there is little between her and Gallipot (John Gosden/ Buick).

The other listed race is over 2 miles at 17.15 and Saeed bin Suroor saddles 3 runners here - Darley Sun (Mikael Barzalona), who won the Cesarewitch here in 2009, but has only run twice in the last 2 years, top-weight Cavalryman (Frankie Dettori) and Lost in the Moment (Silvestre de Sousa). Cavaltryman is very consistentz and despite top weoght he is ouir selection. Aaim to Prosper (Brian Meehan/ Kieren Fallon) has also won the Ces, back in 2010, but has not won since, and is just held on July form by Chiberta King (Andrew Balding/ Jimmy Fortune), when they finished 2-3 behind Cavalryman.

The handicaps are always tricky at these meetings, but it is interesting that two of last year´s winners turn out again, Boogie Shoes (Roger Varian/ Neil Callan) at 17.50 and La Fortunata (Eve Johnson Houghton/ Charles Bishop) and we would not be at all surprised to see them run well again.