The third day of Newmarket’s Craven meeting brings about some intriguing breeding pointers. We’ve picked out three runners who could kickstart their sire’s seasons, or indeed careers, courtesy of bet365, who are offering £50 In Free Bets to new customers, when you sign-up and bet £10.
Tajalla (By Kessaar) – 1.50 5/2
This could be a particularly informative two-year-old novice event with TAJALLA the first of Kessaar’s progeny to meet a racecourse.
The sire only ever raced as a juvenile himself, winning three times in 2018. Although not putting his best foot forward immediately, he improved with experience, ultimately winning a pair of Group races, the latter being Newbury’s Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes by 2¾ lengths.
He follows a more common theme among modern breeding in having only raced at two and it is highly likely his offspring will be forward juveniles with plenty of pace. It just so happens that Tajalla’s dam, Armum, was also a speedy youngster, winning over 6f at two.
This colt will be Roger Varian’s first juvenile of the season. The yard have a decent 18% strike rate in races of this nature in the last five years and a victory could well point punters Kessaar’s way for the rest of the season.
BACK TAJALLA AND GET £50 IN FREE BETS
Eldrickjones (By Cotai Glory) – 2.25 11/2
ELDRICKJONES has already raced ten times, but he was a frustrating horse to follow as a juvenile.
He won only once, but was campaigned notably aggressively by Roger Fell. After losing by just a nose on his debut, he contested four straight Group 2s followed by a Listed race and generally acquitted himself very well.
Connections eventually settled for a maiden success at Pontefract, before two more respectable efforts in novice events. His season petered out at Newmarket, but he returns with a point to prove for sire Cotai Glory.
Eldrickjones is his highest-rated offspring in Britain and Ireland after the sale of Atomic Force to Hong Kong. None of his three-year-olds have won above class 5 level so far, so this would be quite an upgrade.
Victory would also be an indicator to his progeny improving through the age groups. Cotai Glory himself continued at Group level up to the age of five.
BACK TAJALLA AND GET £50 IN FREE BETS
Dawn Of Liberation (By Churchill) – 3.35
There were a few names who disappointed in their first season from the breeding sheds. Two-time Guineas hero Churchill was one of those.
Though six of his progeny now carry official ratings above 100, only Snaffles of Joseph O’Brien’s was at all prolific and he had only progressed to Listed level last term. The other five lost 29 of their combined 35 races.
Ultimately, none came even close to emulating the success of their champion dad. DAWN OF LIBERATION may be among those names, having won none of his three races at two, but his first run at three pointed heavily to Churchill’s fortunes changing as his offspring age.
Dawn Of Liberation won a Doncaster novice event by three lengths for Richard Hannon last month and is immediately upped in trip to 1m1f. That could well prove a plus point for him and he could land a good early scalp for his sire in 2022.
BACK TAJALLA AND GET £50 IN FREE BETS
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply.