A PACEMAKER, so badly missed in Saturday’s Coral-Eclipse at Sandown, might hold the key to Thursday’s feature race as the July Meeting gets under way at Newmarket.
The Group 2 Princess of Wales’s Close Brothers Stakes is the main event, and without doubt the best horse in the race is the Charlie Appleby-trained Yibir, who will be ridden by William Buick.
Yibir is an extremely talented slug, having taken the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar last November and finished second to Shahryar in the Sheema Classic in Dubai in March.
Since then, though, Yibir has been beaten in tactical affairs both at Newmarket – when defeated by the re-opposing Living Legend – and in the Man O’War Stakes at Belmont Park.
Today it appears Appleby is taking no chances on a lack of pace in a small field, as he has also declared the decent but ouclassed Global Storm, who is the mount of James Doyle.
It’s impossible not to believe that Global Storm is there to make sure there is a strong pace, and that means Yibir has a great chance of returning to his best and turning over likely favourite Mostahdaf, who chased home Broome in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Living Legend is owned by terrific people in Barbara and Alick Richmond but since his defeat of Yibir – much better off at the weights – he has finished last at both Epsom and Ascot and while this is much easier than the Coronation Cup it’s hard to see how he reverses form at the Royal fixture with Mostahdaf.
