Silver Grey Lady to show Classic touch

13 April 2012

Big guns will be notably silent at Lingfield tomorrow, with top yards Godolphin and Ballydoyle opting to duck out of its Derby and Oaks trials. In their absence, those stables that have hit the new turf Flat season running can profit.

Rather than contest the Arena Racing Derby Trial Stakes with one of his three entries, Irish handler Aidan O'Brien prefers to send King's County in a three-strong raiding party for this Sunday's French 2,000 Guineas equivalent, the Poule d'Essai des Poulains at Longchamp. Milan, gambled on for the Vodafone Derby yesterday, tackles the supporting ten-furlong Group One Prix Lupin and stablemate Ice Dancer contests Leopardstown's Derby Trial that same day.

Imagine - chief of O'Brien's four fillies in the Arena Racing Oaks Trial - bypasses the Surrey contest for the 1,000 Guineas Trial on the same Irish card. Dream, Fantasy Royale and Karsavina also have other targets.

Meanwhile, Saeed bin Suroor's duo, Celtic Silence and Atlantis Prince, head to York's Dante Stakes next Wednesday and Longchamp's Lupin respectively. Both are expected to improve upon their fourth and 11th in the UAE Derby when failing to enjoy Nad Al Sheba's dirt surface.

Godolphin's racing manager Simon Crisford believes Atlantis Prince will relish soft going in France. But he warned Celtic Silence "must win the Dante, the premier Derby Trial, if he is to book his place at Epsom".

These absentees throw Lingfield's Derby Trial wide open. Feilden Stakes runner-up, Sunny Glenn, would have a strong chance given his proven ability to handle both the track and a softish surface. The form of his narrow second to Olden Times has since been boosted by Terrestrial's win at Newmarket last Saturday and this colt's odds of 50-1 that day belied the high regard with which trainer Nick Littmoden holds him.

But the Newmarket handler is leaning towards missing tomorrow's event in favour of heading straight to the Derby. "I don't want to give him a hard race on soft ground in a large field when I know he stays and can be got fit after a long lay-off," he said.

Ever-decreasing opponents for this Group Three contest may persuade Jeremy Noseda to hand Prize Winner a quick reappearance. Although this colt lacks substance - unlike the vast majority of his potential rivals, he holds neither a Derby nor King Edward VII engagement - his fitness, heart and stable form enables him currently to perform above himself.

Noseda decides this morning whether Prize Winner has sufficiently recovered from his excellent second to Terrestrial just six days ago. If so, this compact colt can prove the value bet here. Dr Greenfield and Mr Combustible have both further franked his form, each with wins at Chester this week.

Perfect Sunday is the prime danger from in-form Barry Hills' yard. His defeat of stablemate Hyderabad was let down in the Chester Vase, but third-placed Bosham Mill since recorded a wide-margin success at Salisbury. This colt impressed with his fluency at Newmarket and clearly handles cut in the ground.

It would be foolish to underestimate Xtra as trainer Luca Cumani has twice taken this race with subsequent Derby heros, Kahyasi in 1988 and High-Rise three years ago. But the Newmarket handler warns his horses' preparation has suffered due to the wet spring. Maiden Putra Sandhurst merits respect from Michael Jarvis's yard, where 1,000 Guineas heroine, Ameerat, is also housed. Wings Of Soul is highly regarded.

In the Oaks Trial, Silver Grey Lady can emulate full brother Silver Patriarch's 1997 success in the colts' equivalent. She rather surprised connections when trouncing her maiden field at Newbury last time. Its worth is dubious: John Dunlop's charge patently revelled in the extreme going her rivals hated, subsequent Cheshire Oaks winner, Rockerlong, failed to give her running and third Aker Wood has since deflated the form.

But there was a lot to like in her application and she may be following the same pattern of rapid improvement her illustrious sibling set in his three-year-old year.

Progressive Double Crossed is in the Ribblesdale but not the Oaks. Her defeat of the selection's lesser stablemate, Lucky Rainbow, gives her a lot to find. Chief danger may instead be the similarly engaged Charmer Venture, who finished ahead of Silver Grey Lady in a Doncaster maiden last October that has worked out very well.

Neither Lilium, who boasts useful form at two, and Baratheastar strike as wanting further than a mile or ten furlongs respectively. The slight setback suffered by Ed Dunlop's Candice means she misses this trial for York's Musidora next Tuesday or Newbury three days later.

Selections: 2.40, Silver Grey Lady; 3.40, Sunny Glenn (if absent: Prize Winner)

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