Rakti can make amends

Twelve months after heading home in disgrace after refusing to enter the stalls, Rakti can redeem himself in style tomorrow by winning the Emirates Airline Champion Stakes on a superb Newmarket card.

Tomorrow's £400,000 contest marks the last chance to see Alamshar and Nayef before they retire to stud, while Russian Rhythm goes in at the top level for the fifth time this season after chasing home the mighty Falbrav in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot.

It's odds on that one of the trio will prevail according to the bookies, yet none of them can be backed unreservedly. Russian Rhythm had a tough race at Ascot and will need to be hardy to peak again just three weeks later, while Nayef has questions to answer after two below par efforts.

Alamshar is plainly a worthy favourite if back to the form which won him the King George. He looks much the safest option among the market leaders, but Rakti lines up a good deal fresher than most in this field.

No-one who saw the heavy handed treatment that the Italian jockey Mirco Demuro dished out to Rakti on this day last year could blame him for deciding not to line up with the rest of the field.

What would have happened had he run is impossible to say, but what can be said with confidence is that the switch from Bruno Grizzetti to the excellent Michael Jarvis was hardly a backward step. A game Group 1 win in Rome in May provided a fine start for his new yard. A battling second behind Nayef in the Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot in June proved beyond doubt that Rakti belongs with the very best, and that performance was all the more praiseworthy considering he pulled much harder than ideal until halfway.

Jarvis reports that Rakti is fully recovered from the injury he sustained there and, with Godolphin's new recruit Vespone among the opposition, the four-year-old looks sure to get the truly-run race which suits him ideally.

The 20-1 offered in one place early this week was never going to last, and the 18-1 which followed has dried up over the last 48 hours. Not to worry. There's still plenty of 12-1 available and, provided his stalls aversion is a thing of the past, Rakti looks capable of giving his followers a run for their money.

Tomorrow's Darley Dewhurst Stakes will have to go some to live up to the hype it has attracted this week, but there's no doubt that it has all the makings of a cracking contest.

In essence, the key to solving the puzzle lies in choosing between two horses who have thrived over a mile and a clutch of others who have shone over six furlongs.

Three Valleys is the pick of the sprinters based on his threequarter length defeat of Balmont in the Middle Park Stakes here two weeks ago, and the reports of his spectacular homework will ensure he has plenty of supporters again.

Duke Of Venice is another strong contender after his runaway maiden win at Sandown, while Snow Ridge showed a rare turn of foot to win the Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot and will relish what seems sure to be a strong gallop.

Antonius Pius and Imperial Stride are both unbeaten with plenty of scope for further improvement, but don't be surprised to see Haafhd show his true colours at a big price.

Granted, this powerful chestnut failed to live up to expectations in Doncaster ' s Champagne Stakes, but the sticky ground was less than ideal for such a fluent mover.

Look back to Newbury in August and Haafhd simply floated over the fast ground to make some smart rivals look second rate in a Listed race.

His sire Alhaarth won this race back in 1995, while his trainer Barry Hills has won the Dewhurst three times in all thanks to Scenic, In Command and Distant Music.

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