This season in the Haggas yard there are, as yet, no 3yo’s like Merchant last year that had already made a mark in handicaps and looked obvious Royal Ascot candidates.
The upcoming week will see a fair few maidens looking to progress from maiden to Handicap company but there a couple that have shown high performance levels to suggest they can move up the scale possibly from Royal Ascot handicaps into Group company.
With all attention on York and Newbury last week, the 8f 3yo Novice Stakes that opened the card at Newmarket on Friday received little attention. The Novice Races at York won by Port Cullis and the two Newbury races won by Point of Contact and Extremely Zain were the subject of much discussion.
To my eye the Newmarket race was the strongest Novice on the day and the performance of Goldophins Tales of Wisdom and the Haggas trained Bayaann were typical of horses that will go close to winning major 3yo handicaps this season, before progressing into Group company.
The pair finished over 6l clear of Queens Companion giving the filly 12lb who had very solid form behind My Ophelia and Earth Shot at Newbury on her final start as a 2yo.
The time of the race was the fastest of the day on the card , quicker than the 9L winner We’re Goosers who is rated 95 after that win.
The handicapper agrees with my thoughts on the strength of the race and put up Tales of Wisdom by 5lb to a mark of 100 – Bayaann will get a rating of 98 or 99. He was in need of the run on Friday and will improve considerably for the outing. Both are useful but Bayaann was very strong at the line and I would expect him to reverse the form should they meet again.
I fully expect him to develop into one of the leading 3yo’s in the yard, which is rich in talent at the age group. That mark will put him near the top of weights for the Britannia but La Botte was runner up in the race last year off a mark of 99.
Lack of experience to deal with a big field Class 2 handicaps of that standing and the draw bias at Ascot are factors that make Ante Post betting high risk. I would only have a small bet if 20/1 or bigger is available. The main betting activity will be after the 48 declaration stage.
The second 3yo dark horse to follow is Princling who will start life in Handicap company from a mark of 87 after winning his maiden at Wetherby at odds of 1/4. Haggas put him into the London Gold Cup but that ultra competitive race would have been a big ask on handicap debut and although backed from 12/1 to 5/1 the option to run was declined. The favourite Love is King was withdrawn and it didn’t look the strongest London Gold Cup.
The form of Princling’s Wetherby win was boosted by the run of second placed Ervani who was beaten just 2L by Port Cullis at York. I am certain that Princling is capable of winning races in the high 90’s and he could well be aimed at the Golden Gates.
He will probably need to win before Ascot (he is near the top of the Ante-Post market for the Silver Bowl at Haydock on Saturday), to be rated high enough to get into a handicap at the meeting, and avoid the same feat as Archivist in 2025. His current mark of 87 is likely to be 3-5lb short of what is normally required, Archivist was balloted out of the Golden Gates with a rating of 90. It is the only race at the Royal meeting with a maximum field size of 14 due to the proximity of the start to the first bend.
There is a possibility that he could go the Britannia route but the entry in the London Gold Cup does suggest the yard is leaning towards the stiffer test of the Golden Gates, that on his breeding (by Kingman out of Frankellina) would seem more feasible.
Wherever Princling makes his handicap debut I would expect to back him. As a 2yo he ran with great promise on debut at Ascot and was fully expected to win on his next outing at Newmarket. I remember thinking at the time how confident the yard were that he would win. He got turned over by the John Gosden trained Yazin – who looks to be a Group winner in waiting as a 3yo and has a rating of 104.
Summary Two to Follow
Bayaann 3yo Colt Too Darn Hot – Madame Dell’Oro
Princling 3yo Colt Kingman- Frankellina
REFA Hag TAG 2026
Chrysalis Consortium 
Leave a comment