Duke of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)

IT’S always encouraging to see new stars emerging in the racing firmament, and that was very much the case on Tuesday as the lightly-raced Nazeef (John Gosden/Jim Crowley) backed up her stylish win in a listed race at Kempton by taking the Group 2 Duke of Cambridge Stakes in a stirring battle with Agincourt (David O’Meara/Danny Tudhope) which she won by a head. The pair pulled two and a half lengths clear of joint-favourite Queen Power (Sir Michael Stoute/Silvestre de Sousa). The winner’s SP was 10/3.

Nazeef ended 2019 with a taking win in a four-runner handicap at Newmarket having made her debut in June, where she suffered her only defeat. Any notion that the Newmarket form may have been muddling was scotched when she overcame an awkward draw and poor track position to beat the top-class Billesdon Brook in the Snowdrop Fillies’ Stakes in early June, and she showed no ill-effects from that run when taking this step up in class in her stride.

Group 1 company

Given she’s just a year into her racing career, and has won all five starts since her debut, it would be a surprise if Nazeef did not feature in Group 1 company, and that was echoed by her trainer, who said she will have a short break before being aimed higher still.

Nazeef didn’t have much to spare having beaten the runner-up by much farther at Kempton, but it’s clear that Agincourt, who was conceding weight there, had improved for her comeback, and both fillies are heading in the right direction.

Like Nazeef, Agincourt was handicapping last year, but had gained blacktype when winning the Listed Rosemary Stakes at Newmarket, and this was a sign that she was fully deserving of the uplift. Both Lavender’s Blue and Jubiloso ran poorly without obvious excuse, albeit the latter gave herself little chance of staying by racing very freely.

Crowley again

The Buckingham Palace Stakes returned to this meeting after a six-year divorce, and provided a win for Jim Crowley aboard the Richard Hannon-trained Motakhayyel. The former champion went on to complete a treble on the day in the colours of Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, for whom he is retained jockey.

The day ended with the Ascot Stakes where Alan King’s likeable dual-purpose campaigner Coeur De Lion was another making it third time lucky at the meeting, having finished just out of the places in this event in 2018 and 2019. He finished well from off the pace to deny the well-supported Verdana Blue in the two-and-a-half-mile contest.

He was gaining his second win under apprentice Thore Hammer Hansen, the pair having struck in the Chester Cup consolation last spring.