Jamie Spencer says the fast ground will really give Dwight D a chance
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In the 2.05 at Newmarket, I’m on the unraced Gilgamesh. It’s his first time out for George Scott. I’ve ridden him at home a couple of times and he’s a nice, big horse for the future and is definitely one to keep an eye out for. I’m sure he will be green and babyish today but he’s one that will be a nice horse for George later on in the year.
I’m on Seafront in the 3.45 Fillies Sprint and she’s done nothing wrong. She’s got Group form after she was just beaten by A P O’Brien’s horse Roly Poly last time at the Curragh. Obviously Bletchley looks the one we all have to beat but with Seafront, what you see is what you get. She’s a tough and honest horse and her form is there. There’s nothing outstanding in the race so I think she has a good chance.
In the Falmouth Stakes, I ride Ashadihan and because she’s won a group race, it makes it very difficult to place a filly like her. She ran ok at Royal Ascot and we are hoping that the faster ground here will be a big help to her. It’s a very strong race and if she could get in the first three it would be a huge achievement, but we’ll just have to see. It’s the only available race there is for her, so it would be nice if she could get placed.
In the 4.45, I’ve switched to Dwight D from High Ground. Dwight D is getting ten or eleven pounds from High Ground, so there wasn’t much between them when they ran against each other at Chester. Dwight D has since been gelded and being able to race on fast ground will really help him out. He’s a nice, big horse and I think he’ll have a good chance. William Haggas has been very happy with him and it’s been the plan all along to give him a mid-season break, get him gelded, and get him back in handicaps.
In the 5.20, I think I am going to ride Can’t Change It. He won very well at Goodwood, before going up to Newcastle on the new track, where he was beaten after 50 yards, so we can just draw a line through that run. Back on grass, I like the horse, although he’s a little bit moody. He’s got two ways of running, he either wins or he’s nowhere to be seen, so hopefully he is fresh and will have a decent chance. He has run well at the track before.
The July Cup is very open, I really like Magical Memory. With a bigger field, the faster pace, and the ground the way it is, I think he’s got a great chance. A lot went wrong for him at Ascot, but if they go a good pace and Frankie can get a nice draw he’ll be very hard to beat. He was very dominant in the race at York earlier in the season and I think that’s when they went at a faster pace, so the pace is key to him.
For any jockey, the clash of all the big races is an absolute nightmare. You just end up upsetting everyone. I liked it when the July Cup was on mid-week but obviously for crowd reasons they’ve changed it. I’m actually going to America instead though.
I’m racing at Belmont in the Derby and the Oaks on Saturday night. I ride Deauville in the Derby and Coolmore in the Oaks. I think Deauville is one of the favourites, while Coolmore is just ok. Looking at her form, she doesn’t look a superstar.
