Berkshire Shadow tops juvenile figures - but reasons to be conservative

Last season’s curtailed build up to Royal Ascot sent many a juvenile campaign into disarray. With rushed preparations and scant opportunity for experience the overall level understandably dipped. Fortunately, this year there was a bounce back. At the 2020 meeting just eight two-year-olds achieved a three-figure Racing Post Rating; last week there were 21. That is actually higher than usual though in this case it was more a symptom of tight finishes than a particularly strong crop. The Coventry Stakes was one example where behind the winner, Berkshire Shadow (109), five essentially crossed the line together.

Traditionally, the Coventry produces the week’s highest rated winner and Berkshire Shadow delivered in that sense, however, given the apparent advantage of sticking to the stands' rail and the hard luck stories in behind there are reasons to be conservative. Hence, for the fourth time in five years the winning figure was below 110. There is some doubt that Berkshire Shadow will even emerge best of these in the long term. Runner-up Eldrickjones (105) was forced to wait for a run with less than two furlongs to go, overcoming his starting price of 66-1 and a low draw on just his second start. The third, Vintage Clarets (104), looks a sprinter of potential while fourth, Masseto (103), and sixth, Dhabab (102), shaped in need of further. Even Ebro River (103) in fifth was undone by stall one.

The two contests restricted to fillies produced up to scratch winners, sharing second spot in the list. Quick Suzy (106), in the Queen Mary, again enjoyed the benefits of a high draw and a run down the rail, with the runner-up and third following suit. She relished the drop back to five furlongs and now sets the sprinting standard. Sandrine (106) won a deep renewal of the Albany, staying on best in heavy ground following deluge upon deluge. A cautious approach is therefore appropriate, yet this has the feel of a race that could well be revised upwards in time with Hello You (102) and Prettiest (100) sure to do better in less extreme conditions.