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Prizefighting Looks up to Bahrain Trophy Class
07/07/10

Shrewd Newmarket-based John Gosden knows a good horse when he sees one and has always held Prizefighting in some regard. At Newmarket on Thursday, Princess Haya's colt can prove his worth by winning the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy, writes Elliot Slater.

The winner of a Kempton maiden on his juvenile debut, the $500,000 colt was then pitched straight in at the deep end in stepping up to Group 1 company to contest the Criterium International at Saint Cloud in a race that is bound to excite anyone with an interest in UK horse tips.

There he ran respectably enough for one so lacking in experience and finished fifth to the smart Jan Vermeer on ground that was almost certainly too soft for him.

In need of the run when down the field behind Rumoush in the Fielden Stakes at Newmarket in April, Prizefighting went on to put up a much improved effort when runner-up to subsequent Epsom Derby third Rewilding in the Cocked Hat Stakes at Good wood in May.

After this he returned to France for a Group 3 at Chantilly, a race in which he was hemmed in for most of the way before running on very well once in the clear, but by then he had no hope of catching the leaders.

Gosden has chosen to run the Smart Strike colt in blinkers for the first time at Newmarket this week and I would not be the least bit surprised if the blinds don't spark further improvement allied to a change of luck, anyone who follows horse racing tips should keep this in mind.

With his six rivals for the mile-and-five furlong prize looking like little more than smart handicappers, I fully expect Prizefighting to put up a big display, possibly at the main expense of William Haggas' promising Harris Tweed, a horse who would surely have been capable of winning another good handicap but who his trainer has chosen to step up in grade on Thursday.