Of those in the Hilary Needler to have made an appearance, nothing jumps out, with the top Racing Post Rating recorded a modest 76. A trio of newcomers do look interesting, including Robert Cowell’s Jazzy Princess. The Newmarket handler has given debuts to just three 2yos in Class 2 contests or above in the last decade - two of them winning. Both of those victories came at this meeting, one in this very race and another with Prince Of Lir, sire of Jazzy Princess. She’s out of a sister to a Vintage Stakes runner-up, so smart juvenile form does run in the family. At an each-way price, she looks an intriguing Win and Place bet.
Awkward leaving the stalls, David Barron’s filly lost a few lengths at the start at Ascot, before being lit up by a couple of keen goers next to her in a slowly run race last time. To her credit, she passed beaten horses to finish third that day, but this contest looks more likely to be run to suit. There are plenty that like to go forward here, including the course and distance hat-trick seeker Poet’s Dawn, so there should be no shortage of pace to aim at. The handicapper has left the selection alone on a mark of 77, which still looks like a workable figure. She looks best with a bit of cut in the ground, so conditions should be no problem for this contest.
Mark Johnston’s colt took a bit of a backwards step when upped to 6f at Newbury last time out, but there’s a chance that it was the trip rather than lack of talent that caught him out that day as he led pretty much all the way to the furlong pole before fading. An easy winner on debut, the form of that smooth success was given a boost when both the second and third won next time out, before The Gatekeeper pulled clear of the field when second to Brocklesbury winner Chipotle at Ascot. A reproduction of either of those 5f performances will see him in the mix. Richard Fahey’s newcomer Straits Of Moyle is nicely bred, by a previous winner of this race and a half-brother to a juvenile Listed winner, so must be respected.
A step up in class mightn’t be enough to stop the progress of the improving Sibaaq who arrives here off the back of a course and distance victory on seasonal debut. The runner-up won next time, while the third and fourth were in the frame on their next runs, so he looks fully capable of overcoming a 4lb rise in the weights. His best performances have come on fast ground, so there is a slight question mark over whether he’ll quite be able to deliver an optimum performance on this surface. Nevertheless, he hit the frame twice with give underfoot last term, so it’s not a deal breaker by any means. He’s a half-brother to a German Listed winner and an Irish Group 3 winner who improved on their 2yo form no end at three, so he mightn’t be done progressing just yet.
The two big days at Beverley see the sprinters take centre stage, with the 5f Beverley Bullet and Hilary Needler Trophy seeing the speedsters on show in East Riding of Yorkshire. It’s arguably the venue with the most pronounced draw bias in the country, with low numbers holding all the aces in the shortest races on the calendar.
Beverley is a fairly sharp track, right-handed, with a steady climb to the line from the final turn. Prominent racers who get into a rhythm are often hard to catch.
