Formal mixing it against the boys in Criterion

North Wales Chronicle

27-06-2025

The seven-furlong Group Three is being run on the Knavesmire for the first time following a switch from Newmarket and is being viewed by some as a stepping-stone to the City of York Stakes, which now carries Group One status and is run over the same course and distance at the Ebor Festival later in the summer.
Formal disappointed on her seasonal debut in the Fred Darling at Newbury, but showed her true colours when winning Epsom's Surrey Stakes on Oaks day three weeks ago and that form received a significant boost after the runner-up Saqqara Sands landed a Listed prize at Carlisle on Wednesday.
'We were going to wait for the Oak Tree at Goodwood, but Andrew was quite keen to let her take her chance on Saturday and I don't think he's discounted Goodwood either,' said Chris Richardson, managing director for owners Cheveley Park Stud.
'She seems to have come out of Epsom really well and they're very happy with her. Andrew is keen to have a go, he thinks it's a good opportunity and seven furlongs should be her trip, so we'll all learn a bit more about her.'
The likely favourite is the William Haggas-trained Lake Forest, who returns to action less than a fortnight after finishing fifth over a mile in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot.
The four-year-old beat Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Lazzat in the Golden Eagle in Australia last year and jockey Tom Marquand is excited to ride him back over this shorter trip.
'It was a good run at Ascot, it was a funny race as we sprinted from a good way down and it was the second wave who went over the top in Docklands and Rosallion,' Marquand told Sky Sports Racing.
'They were the best of the division and I thought he ran a respectable race.
'It's a quick enough back up but he's a tough little horse, he loves fast ground and seven furlongs at York should be on the money trip-wise so I'm looking forward to getting back on him.'
Paborus has won four of his six starts with Ed Bethell and will carry the Wathnan Racing colours for the first time.
Wathnan's racing adviser, Richard Brown, said: 'He wouldn't want rattling ground so with the dry spell we've had we've just had to be patient with him.
'We'll see what Saturday brings, he was very impressive at Thirsk last time and he's a big horse who we hope has a big future, but we will have to mind him ground-wise.
'Ed is a great guy and one of the most impressive young trainers in the country and Wathnan are delighted to have a horse with potential with him.'
The Dylan Cunha-trained Prague was a brilliant winner of Newmarket's Joel Stakes last season but failed to fire in the QEII at Ascot on Champions Day and has not been seen in competitive action since.
'He's in great form – as well as I've ever seen him. He's training really well,' said Cunha.
'The drop to seven furlongs is just because he's quite keen in his races – we just want to teach him to settle. We've been going a mile and a mile and a quarter with him, but his mother (Princess Noor) was actually a six-furlong Group Three winner.
'It's an experiment but if he runs in the first two he'll go to the City of York. If it's too short, he'll run in the Strensall. He's definitely going to York twice in the next two months!'