Newmarket Racing Preview: Tattersalls Stakes and Jockey Club Rose Bowl

The Tattersalls Stakes, registered as the Somerville Tattersall Stakes, is a Group 3 contest for two-year-old colts and geldings, run over seven furlongs at Newmarket. Thirteen runners have been declared for the 2026 renewal, with the going reported as good, good to firm in places. The race carries a guaranteed prize fund of £75,000, including £42,532.50 for the winner. The race has traditionally provided an autumn test for promising juveniles, with several previous winners subsequently contesting the Dewhurst Stakes.

For horse racing fans, this year’s renewal offers an opportunity to see how a number of relatively inexperienced two-year-olds handle the step up in competition. Charlie Appleby has trained three winners of the race in the past 20 renewals, while William Buick and Ryan Moore have each ridden three winners over the same period.

Great Balls O’Fire comes into the Tattersalls Stakes with the least racecourse experience of the two horses highlighted here, having made just one career start. Trained by Richard Spencer, the Too Darn Hot colt made a successful debut over six furlongs at Newmarket on 22 August.

Sent off as the 6/4 favourite in that Class 4 novice contest, Great Balls O’Fire was held up towards the rear before making progress later in the race. He drifted left when challenging but moved into the lead inside the closing stages and went on to win by a length and a half.

That performance gives him useful experience of Newmarket, although Thursday represents a considerable step up from novice company to Group 3 level. His pedigree provides some encouragement for the additional furlong: his dam was a winner over seven furlongs as a two-year-old, while his half-brother Umm Hurair won four races over longer distances.

Mezzo Forte has also had a light campaign, but the William Haggas-trained colt already has two starts behind him. He finished fifth on his debut over six furlongs at York in June before returning to the same course on 6 September for a seven-furlong Class 2 maiden.

That second appearance produced a clear improvement. Mezzo Forte made the running and, after being pushed along around two furlongs from home, stretched away in the final furlong to win by two and a half lengths.

The seven-furlong distance is therefore already proven, while his pedigree also offers some useful context. Mezzo Forte is by Wootton Bassett out of Majestic Glory, a Frankel mare who won twice over six and seven furlongs, including at Group 3 level.

The Jockey Club Rose Bowl presents a very different horse racing challenge. The Listed Class 1 contest is run over two miles on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile and is open to horses aged three and older. Fifteen runners have been declared, with £60,000 in guaranteed prize money and £34,026 going to the winner.

Gregory brings established staying form into the race. The six-year-old, trained by John and Thady Gosden, has won four of his 11 career starts and arrives at Newmarket with an official rating of 113.

His latest victory came at York in June, when he won over approximately one mile and six furlongs on good ground. That performance saw his rating rise from 110 to 113 and added another staying success to a record that already includes victories over distances ranging from around one mile and three furlongs to one mile and six furlongs.

James Doyle is set to ride Gregory at Newmarket and has been aboard for all four of his career victories. Gregory will carry 9st 8lb in the Rose Bowl.

Arabian Force arrives with plenty of experience in higher-level races. The four-year-old William Haggas-trained gelding has won two of his 11 starts and has an official rating of 109.

Both victories came in 2025 over shorter distances, but his 2026 campaign has included several notable performances against stronger opposition. He finished second over a mile and a half at Longchamp before finishing third in the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes at Newbury and another third in the Group 3 Silver Cup at York over one mile and six furlongs.

His most recent appearance came in the Irish St Leger at the Curragh, where he finished sixth. That race was only 11 days before the Jockey Club Rose Bowl, making the relatively quick turnaround another factor to note.