Ratings Update: Future Champions Festival

The Dewhurst Stakes is traditionally the pre-eminent race for juveniles in Britain and even without the notable absentees, Quarto and Ten Sovereigns, the 2018 renewal looked a strong one – the seven-strong field included two colts who had already reached the 120s on ratings, joined by one who arrived on the back of a Group 1 success and another who had created a deep impression in winning both of his previous starts.

Too Darn Hot (up 6 lb to 127p) was nevertheless the standout in a stellar crop for most observers and he confirmed that belief in completing the perfect season with the best performance by any two-year-old since the legendary Frankel in 2010. He produced that despite things not going as smoothly as they might have through the race, taking a keen hold early and briefly looking in trouble as the pace lifted entering the Dip, before engaging top gear in the final furlong to quickly put two and three-quarter lengths between himself and runner-up Advertise (119 from 113p).

🔥🔥Too Darn Hot sizzles for Frankie! They've won the Dewhurst in style! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/7OpoVWSonY

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) October 13, 2018

Too Darn Hot now sets the bar very high ahead of next season’s 2000 Guineas – his performance on Saturday would have been good enough to win all but five renewals of the first Classic this century – and there's an expectation that his form will continue to accelerate, especially back at 1m next spring. His suitability for the Derby is another matter, given the speed that he has shown so far, but he clearly has vast talent and is a fantastically exciting prospect, whatever his optimum trip proves to be. Incidentally, as the table below shows, his timefigure was the joint-highest of the week, though a little way below his Doncaster performance.

Advertise improved upon the form he showed to win the Phoenix Stakes and saw out the extra furlong well enough to think he could prove effective over 1m as a three-year-old, for all that there is plenty of speed in his pedigree. Anthony Van Dyck (118 from 120p) was over a length in arrears of the front pair and not far off the level of his second behind Quorto in the National Stakes. Typical of a Galileo, his future looks sure to be back over at least 1m next year. Sangarius (107p from 107P), on the other hand, found it all a bit too much too soon, but the involvement at this level should bring him on and, with a big frame to fill, he remains a colt with lots of potential.

Similar comments apply to another son of Kingman, Persian King (up 6 lb to 114p), who followed up two wide-margin wins in France with a battling defeat of Magna Grecia (113p from 92P) in an above-average renewal of the Autumn Stakes 35 minutes earlier. That pair dominated the market beforehand and duly put three lengths between themselves and the remainder in the closing stages, producing efforts, allied to their physiques, that suggest they should both climb higher still at three.

Norway (up 7 lb to 107) could also have a steep ascent ahead of him judged by his victory in the Zetland Stakes. He improved markedly for the extra two furlongs, as pre-empted by his breeding, and should have more to offer as his stamina is drawn out further next season, sure to be suited by at least 1½m; a trial for the Derby, a race his brother Ruler of The World won in 2013, is likely to be on the cards when he returns in the spring.

Ruler of The World was also in the headlines on Friday, with a member of his first crop, Iridessa (up 20 lb to 114p), taking a significant step forward to spring a surprise in the Fillies’ Mile. She was well suited by the emphasis on stamina back at 1m and is more likely to make up into an Oaks contender than a Guineas one, though there is no reason why she shouldn’t return to Newmarket next spring, with nothing of the fairer sex having really put their stamp on the juvenile division this term.

Iridessa stays on powerfully to get the better of Hermosa and Pretty Pollyanna to win the bet365 Fillies' Mile (Group 1) under Wayne Lordan for trainer @JosephOBrien2. 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Tkz0sC86sW

— The Jockey Club (@TheJockeyClub) October 12, 2018

Prix Morny winner Pretty Pollyanna (down 2 lb to 116) still leads the way on ratings despite meeting defeat for the second start in succession. She acquitted herself well just two weeks on from the Cheveley Park, beaten only by two stronger stayers on this first try over 1m, and there's little to lose by giving her a Guineas prep next spring; she shouldn't be dismissed out of hand for that assignment. In truth, the first three all have something to recommend them for 2019, with runner-up Hermosa (110 from 106p) also likely to prove capable of better given her run-to-run progression this term.

Mot Juste (102p from 88) can boast a similar profile at a lower level, having improved again to win the Oh So Sharp Stakes, in which seven of the eight runners were last-time-out winners. She will be suited by 1m and is entitled to line up in a Guineas trial herself next spring, but it’s hard to escape the view that the form of the principals here is useful at best, with the exposed/penalised Angel’s Hideaway (remains on 103) losing out by just three quarters of a length in second.  

Friday’s card did witness another smart two-year-old performance, though, courtesy of Sergei Prokofiev (up 3 lb to 112), who came from last to first to win the Cornwallis Stakes by a length and a quarter from the consistent Well Done Fox (up 3 lb to 107). That effort was at least as good as when he was third in the Coventry and, with the prospect of more to come, he looks likely to make an impact at sprint distances next year.

Away from the juveniles, Limato (remains on 122) made it back-to-back wins in the Challenge Stakes in smooth fashion. His best days are seemingly behind him, but he is still very smart under the right conditions, as he's proven on his last three starts, and it will likely be more of the same if connections bring him back as a seven-year-old, no reason why he shouldn’t remain competitive in races below the very top level.

Finally, the two big handicaps at the meeting were kind to punters, with Rock Eagle (up 4 lb to 107p) justifying favouritism in the Old Rowley Cup on Friday and the well backed Low Sun (up 10 lb to 112) landing the following day’s Cesarewitch. The latter relished the test of stamina and offered plenty of hope that we've probably not seen all that he can do either on the Flat or over hurdles, while Rock Eagle didn’t do much when hitting the front and might still be ahead of the handicapper once reassessed. The horse that gave Rock Eagle most to do, Astronomer (up 4 lb to 119p), ran a huge race from a BHA mark of 106 - recording a good timefigure in the process - and looks ready for a crack at pattern company sooner rather than later.