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Captain's Blog - Tuesday 16th October

Morning all. Here is the verdict of the McNae speed figure jury for Dubai Future Champions Day. I am well aware that some of you do not believe in these figures, so you can log off now, but for everybody else I am sure you will agree with me that they put the performances at Newmarket into perspective.

1. Fullbright - 102
( A soft Group 2 for a hardy colt )

2. Reckless Abandon - 114
( Precocious speed brilliantly handled by the boss of the moss)

3. Dawn Approach - 121
( Like father like son - bring on the Guineas )

4. Aaim To Prosper - 110
( Where did that come from?)

5. Just The Judge - 98
( A compelling case for the 1000 Guineas. Or maybe not?)

6. Trading Leather - 100
( Another from the Bolger school of excellence)

7. Mull Of Killough - 82
( Grand theft equine, easy lead style )

A superb set of figures! In terms of future champions we certainly saw one in Dawn Approach. His figure is a monster one for a two-year-old. The Guineas is his for the taking.

The surprise was Aaim To Prosper. He has improved massively.

Mull of Killough is a poor figure. Explained by getting a soft lead on the rail and dictating matters at a steady tempo

Reckless Abandon is all speed. His figure is more than useful, although he’s unlikely to stay a mile.

There you have it. The big question is has Future Champions Day actually thrown up a champion? The figures, rather like the man from Del Monte, say yes and it is Dawn Approach. If you managed to secure a piece of the 5/1 available for the Guineas after he won on Saturday then you should congratulate yourself in whatever way suits you. Not only will you be able to lay the bet off you are, in my opinion also on the winner.

Richard Hughes was magnificent at Windsor yesterday, riding seven winners, each one of them a lesson in pace judgement and tactical know-how. What he does so well is that he times his effort on horses so well, never really going through the gears until he absolutely has to. Unlike some he realizes that kicking two out and hoping to hang on is really riding by numbers and that to be the best a better understanding of pace is needed and he is the best.

Fortunately one of Richard’s winners was our two-star bet yesterday. Today I am keen on the chances of Van Der Neer in the 2.10 at Leicester. He made a big impression when winning at Yarmouth and won in a good time. He can follow up here.

Have a good one!

Today's Selection

2.10 Leicester - 3* Van Der Neer

* If I have a strong view about a selection I will always make that apparent and I scale the confidence I have in my selections. One is minimum faith and 10 is maximum bet stuff.