Reckless Abandon, Dawn Approach seeking to extend unbeaten
records
by Brisnet.com
Clive Cox’s star juvenile Reckless Abandon is looking to extend his unbeaten
record to five in the Group 1, £150,000 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on
Saturday.
The son of Exchange Rate made a winning debut at Doncaster on May 19 before
taking the Group 2 Norfolk Stakes by three-quarters of a length at Royal Ascot
on June 21. Reckless Abandon continued to impress with a comfortable front-running success in the Group
2 Prix Robert Papin at Maisons-Laffitte on July 22, before making all
the running to land the six-furlong, Group 1 Prix Morny by
three-quarters of a length at Deauville on August 19.
The unbeaten bay will once again clash with Moohaajim, trained by Marco Botti, who landed the
Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes impressively last month after finishing just a little over two
lengths behind Reckless Abandon when fifth in the Prix Morny.
“I have been very happy with Reckless Abandon
since he won the Morny at Deauville,” said Cox, who is based in Lambourn,
England. “He has had a nice healthy gap between then
and now and I’m happy that he is in really good order.
“It has been a fantastic season so far and I am very pleased with the
progress he has made but I just hope we don’t get too much rain at Newmarket —
that’s my only concern. He has continued to strengthen and develop as you would expect from any
two-year-old, but very clearly in the right direction.
“I hope The Dip won’t be a problem to him as he is very well balanced,”
Cox added. “It is
the first time he will encounter anything like that on the track so we don’t
honestly know, but he handles and manages himself very well. I hope we can
confirm the form with Moohaajim.”
The prestigious six-furlong contest also includes Kevin Ryan’s unbeaten
Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes winner Blaine as well as Aidan O’Brien’s Group 2 Coventry Stakes third Cristoforo Colombo, who will be partnered by Ryan Moore.
Saturday’s seven-race card at Newmarket is headlined by the Group 1, £300,000
Dewhurst Stakes, which will feature six runners. The seven-furlong
showpiece sees the return of Jim Bolger’s unbeaten two-year-old Dawn Approach,
who took his record to five-for-five in the Group 2 Vincent O’Brien Stakes
last out on September 15.
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