The next seven days will almost certainly see Somerville Lodge dispatch their highest volume of runners in a single week this season. Following six entries on Monday, William Haggas’ yard saddles four on Tuesday and a further ten on Wednesday.
The week began with a couple of potential 100 + rated horses both enhancing their reputation.
Song of the Clouds turning over the long odds-on—and distinctly errant—Wootz. I expect she will now go in search of Black Type. She is a lovely, big filly with plenty of scope, and could well be primed to campaign as a four-year-old at Listed and Group level.
Next up Majestic Jude was smashed from 4/7 into 2/9 and won well giving away 8lb and 11lb to his rivals. This performance put him at the top of the Somerville Lodge 2yo’s on ratings so far, along with Middle Park Stakes bound Sharadd.
The well bred Crown of Crowns was typically green on her first outing staying on to be beaten 9L in 4th. She reminded me of her stablemate Finalise who also started off at Windsor. Very soft ground and a longer trip will be needed for her to produce her best.
Fractional completed the Haggas Monday hat trick and drifted to a back-able price of 4/1 having opened very short at 5/2. More importantly it was her first win and was especially valuable for her paddock career.
Pure Majesty still looked far from straight forward before the start of the Kempton novice but showed a better attitude than previously in the race and will be very interesting in handicaps I suspect next season as a 3yo.
Finally on Monday, Encore was backed into 1/2 on and didn’t need to improve to win the fillies novice to give the yard a 4 timer on the day. However I think they have done very well to get a win out of her as she looked very awkward and disagreeable with all aspects of racing and she is one to avoid if she races again.
Haggas’ Yarmouth Target: The 3YO Handicappers
The three-day Yarmouth Festival is historically a lucrative fixture for Haggas supporters. Focusing strictly on the yard’s three-year-olds in handicap company over the last 25 years yields an 11-30 record (+16.00 Level Stakes Profit). Refining that trend by following market confidence—backing only the top two in the betting—pushes the strike rate above 50% (9-17).
Furthermore, five 3YOs have contested handicaps over 8f or less at this meeting, returning four winners and a nose runner-up.
That record can be enhanced on Tuesday by Creative Queen in the 5f Class 5 handicap (5:18).
Creative Queen: Best Bet on Tuesday
A half-sister to Group 2 Norfolk Stakes winner Valiant Force, Creative Queen cost Wathnan Racing €800,000 as a two-year-old at the Arqana Breeze-Up Sale. She made an inauspicious start to her career, beaten at 4/9 on her sole juvenile start in a three-runner Newcastle novice in November 2025.
That low-level form continued into her early 3YO campaign, failing to score and displaying distinct signs of greenness across her first two outings. She eventually found a weak maiden over 6f at Yarmouth to break her duck, though she appeared the best of a poor bunch that afternoon and subsequently failed to progress over 6f and 7f.
The Somerville Lodge team correctly diagnosed that 5f is her ideal trip. Tried in cheekpieces over 5f in a Class 5 at Ripon, she found the track unsuitable, but showed enough promise to persist with the minimum distance. Back at Yarmouth next time, she was desperately unlucky to go down by a nose to a rival who sneaked up the stands’ rail late on.
However, it was her latest run over 5f on soft ground in Class 4 company at Haydock that confirms she is ready to take a major step forward.
She finished 6th, beaten just two lengths. Held up, she was repeatedly denied a clear run and would have been right in the finish with clear daylight.
The winner, Boston Don, was returning to form off a reduced mark of 77 (having competed off marks in the 90s earlier this season), proving the form is strong for this grade.
Crucially, she displayed tactical speed for the first time. Previously a “point-and-go” runner, she relaxed when restrained early at Haydock despite pulling until she got cover , finishing her race with plenty left in the tank.
She visually reminds me of Kinswoman, who progressed from a mark of 75 to 91 after dropping back to 5f. If Creative Queen delivers as expected on Tuesday, she can follow a similar upward trajectory. A convincing win could line her up for the Class 3 handicap at Haydock in October—the same race where we landed a 3pt bet on Kinswoman.
There looks to be strong pace forecast for Tuesday’s race. The in-form James Doyle travels for the ride and can hold her up on the stands’ side from a favorable draw in stall 6, timing his run inside the final furlong. She still has to prove she is progressing off this mark, so a 2pt play is recommended.
Selection: 2pt win — Creative Queen (5:18 Yarmouth)
Tuesday’s Supporting Cast
Creative Queen is the final runner of a four -strong squad for Haggas on Day 1 of the festival:
2:47 Yarmouth – 7f Fillies’ Novice: Most eyes will be on Sea La Roma, the latest filly owned by Sutherland Holdings to enter training at Newmarket. Bred by the owners of Sea The Stars, she has massive shoes to fill—most notably those of Arc runner-up Sea Of Class and Sea La Rosa. While some in the line have missed the mark, her dam Holy Amoretta has produced two winners from two runners by Sea The Stars: Poseidon’s Adventure (peak OR 106 for Godolphin) and Nuit (rated 96 for Henry de Bromhead). Seven furlongs will be her absolute minimum. While Haggas 2YO debutants boast a solid strike rate at Yarmouth and Haydock (4-15 over the last 3 years), both Sea The Stars and Sea Of Class were beaten on debut. Watch with interest, but hold off betting.
Verdict: No Bet.
2:17 Yarmouth – 7f Handicap:Magic Box returns following a three-month absence. Although she looks reasonably handicapped, I suspect—much like Gaspacho at Leicester last week—she will strip fitter for the run she is a big drifter in the overnight markets 7/1 from 7/2.
Verdict: No Bet.
3:15 Yarmouth – 6f 2YO Novice: If You Like makes his debut. Related to the Mike Appleby-trained Lipsink, this 6f trip should suit him fine. A long-term tracker prospect.
Verdict: No Bet.
Chrysalis Consortium 
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