Newmarket Saturday Racing Preview: Royal Lodge, Cheveley & Middle Park

The Royal Lodge Stakes is a Group 2 contest for two-year-olds over one mile, with seven runners declared and the ground currently listed as good. The race provides an important step up for several lightly raced colts, with particular interest in First Law and Burning Up, who both arrive unbeaten after two starts.

The Rowley Mile adds another consideration: its undulations and long finish can ask different questions of these juveniles compared with the courses they have encountered so far. With £70,888 going to the winner, this is also a significant prize in its own right and an opportunity for the field to strengthen their credentials before their three-year-old campaigns.

First Law has made a perfect start for Charlie Appleby, winning both of his races with William Buick in the saddle. He opened his career with a narrow victory over a mile at Sandown in August before stepping into Listed company for the Ascendant Stakes at Haydock. There, he beat Rocket Boy by three-quarters of a length, responding when challenged late in the race.

The change in ground is worth noting. His Haydock success came on heavy ground, whereas Newmarket is currently forecast to be good. His debut win at Sandown nevertheless came on good-to-firm ground, giving him experience of a quicker surface as well as proven form over Saturday’s mile. The Royal Lodge will be his first Group 2 appearance and his first experience of the Rowley Mile, making this a notable rise in class despite his unbeaten record.

Burning Up also arrives two from two, with both victories coming over around a mile at Haydock. Karl Burke’s colt won on debut by two and three-quarter lengths on good ground before returning to the same course in September and beating Hands To Yourself by one and a quarter lengths on softer ground.

That gives Burning Up useful experience over both the Royal Lodge distance and contrasting surfaces. The bigger unknown is the level of opposition: his first two victories came below Pattern level, so Saturday represents a considerable rise into Group 2 company. Clifford Lee has ridden him in both starts and retains the ride, providing continuity as Burning Up faces the strongest field of his short career.

The six-furlong Cheveley Park Stakes brings together leading juvenile fillies in a Group 1 offering £155,952 to the winner. Sun Goddess and Senorita Bonita already have Group 1 victories behind them, while Libertango brings particularly relevant form against both. The three have crossed paths during the season, but their performances since those meetings mean earlier results do not provide a simple guide to Saturday.

Sun Goddess arrives after an increasingly impressive campaign for Aidan O’Brien. She has won the Phoenix Stakes and Moyglare Stud Stakes at Group 1 level, with the latter victory coming over seven furlongs at the Curragh. Between those successes, she also produced a commanding performance in a valuable six-furlong race at York.

Saturday sees her drop back from seven furlongs to six, although she has already demonstrated considerable speed at the shorter distance. One particularly relevant piece of form came in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, where Libertango finished ahead of her. Sun Goddess has progressed significantly since then, however, adding two Group 1 victories to her record.

Senorita Bonita has won three of her four starts for Simon and Ed Crisford and already has useful Newmarket form. She defeated Libertango by three-quarters of a length in the six-furlong Duchess of Cambridge Stakes on the July Course before travelling to Deauville and winning the Group 1 Prix Morny.

Those performances show she can operate under contrasting conditions: the Duchess of Cambridge was run on good-to-firm ground, while the Prix Morny was run on a much softer surface. Her previous Newmarket success did not come on the Rowley Mile, but experience of the venue and six-furlong trip still adds useful context ahead of another major assignment.

Libertango has built her campaign around six furlongs and has won three of her four starts. George Boughey’s filly won on debut at Leicester before defeating Sun Goddess in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot. She then finished three-quarters of a length behind Senorita Bonita at Newmarket before returning to winning form in the Group 2 Lowther Stakes at York.

That sequence makes her particularly interesting in the context of the leading fillies. She has beaten Sun Goddess directly and finished close behind Senorita Bonita, while her Lowther victory provides evidence of further progress since the Newmarket meeting. Saturday now asks her to convert that Group form into a first Group 1 success.

The Middle Park Stakes is another six-furlong Group 1, this time for two-year-old colts. Inner City Blues and Push The Boat Out bring unbeaten records, while Orthodox has already produced a major performance at Royal Ascot. The ground at Newmarket is currently listed as good, an important factor given the contrasting conditions several of these runners have encountered during the season.

Orthodox won his first two starts, beginning at Salisbury before taking a major step forward in the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot. He came through a 21-runner field to win the Group 2 contest by three and a half lengths on good-to-firm ground.

His subsequent Prix Morny run was less successful, with Orthodox finishing sixth on soft-to-heavy ground. Trainer Clive Cox has pointed to the surface as a factor in that performance, so the good ground currently reported at Newmarket provides a different set of conditions. The other question is distance: both victories came over five furlongs, meaning the Middle Park will ask him to sustain his speed over six.

Inner City Blues has raced only twice but has won on both occasions. Charlie Appleby’s colt opened with a six-furlong success at York before stepping directly into Group 2 company in the July Stakes at Newmarket, where he again finished strongly to maintain his unbeaten record.

Although the July Course differs from the Rowley Mile, he has already shown he handles six furlongs at Newmarket. His limited experience remains part of Saturday’s question: the Middle Park is his first Group 1 and presents a stronger test than either of his first two starts. Appleby deliberately shaped his autumn programme around this race after his July Stakes victory.

Push The Boat Out has progressed rapidly from his first two starts at the Curragh. Michael O’Callaghan’s colt won a 19-runner maiden on debut before moving immediately into Group 3 company for the Round Tower Stakes, where he narrowly defeated Coventry Stakes winner Great Barrier Reef.

Both victories have come over six furlongs, so he has already shown he handles the distance, but Newmarket brings several new questions. This will be his first appearance away from the Curragh, his first experience of the Rowley Mile and his first Group 1 contest. Moving from maiden company to Group 1 level in only three starts represents a sharp rise, making his further development one of the more intriguing storylines in Saturday’s Middle Park.