Saturday, October 12, 2024

Flat Turf 2023 tips: Ten horses to follow as campaign kicks off at Doncaster

Must read

As Doncaster stages the first meeting on grass of the year and with the first Classic just five weeks away, here are ten horses to look out for during 2023

Desert Crown: the Derby winner has stayed in training(PA)

With the launch of the 2023 Flat Turf season at Doncaster today there will be a frisson of excitement for the year ahead.

The first Classic, the Qipco 2,000 Guineas is just five weeks away with the Derby a month later followed by Royal Ascot.




As usual there is a lot of expectation around last season’s top performers and gaps to fill with a number of the year’s star performers, including Baaeed, the top rated horse in Europe in 2022, having gone off to stud.

Little Big Bear topped the two-year-old rankings and if will be fascinating to see whether he turns out to be a miler or a sprinter.

THREE YEAR OLDS

AUGUST RODIN (Aidan O’Brien)

The next Nijinsky, Camelot or neither? Aidan O’Brien has namechecked him as a potential Triple Crown horse but he will have to win the 2,000 Guineas for starters. The son of Japanese super sire Deep Impact looked a stronger candidate for the Derby than the Guineas with an impressive winning performance over a mile on heavy ground in the Vertem Futurity. Yet the Newmarket Classic is often the best trial for Epsom.

LITTLE BIG BEAR (Aidan O’Brien)

Latest article