Will another Battaash or Mitbaahy emerge from the Scurry Stakes?

The sprint programme for three-year-olds is expanding to meet increased demand. It is now especially busy around Royal Ascot, but the recent record of the Macmillan Sprint and Scurry Stakes shows these long-standing races are not losing out to fresh challengers like the Commonwealth Cup and Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Winners of this Listed race since 2015 (the first year of the Commonwealth Cup) include future Group sprint mainstays like Mitbaahy, Lazuli and the mighty Battaash. Every winner since Battaash has stepped up to the same Group 3 next time: the Coral Charge over the same course and distance on Eclipse day. Two of the six have followed up. So even if you are not betting, this is a race to watch.

That is not to say that all nine runners are potential Group horses. A few of these could reasonably be said to be on a black-type hunt. But those near the top of the betting all have genuine Group 1 potential as five-furlong sprinters.

Perdika has the badges. She has already run five times in Listed/Group 3 races, picking up two wins, two seconds and a third. Compared with her, Great State and especially Tajalla are just getting started.

There is necessarily some guesswork required on Tajalla, who arrives directly from novices. All we know is he is better than the Racing Post Rating of 100 he ran at Hamilton last time. 

Great State has worked up the grades and has, if anything, found it easier the higher he has climbed. The confidence Oisin Murphy showed when picking his way through at York last time belied that this was a horse graduating to Listed races from handicaps. 

Similar tactics are fraught with danger on Sandown's five-furlong course, but you feel like interference might be the only thing that can stop Great State taking the next step on his path to top five-furlong races.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

What they say

Peter Harper, racing manager to Al Mohamediya Racing, owners of Great State
He’s been in great form since winning at York last time and looks to be well drawn in stall two. He has a penalty to carry but hopefully is up to that and we have a half-decent jockey on board. The yard are in flying form and we go there confident.

Roger Varian, trainer of Tajalla
It'll be interesting to see how he runs as he’s very lightly raced. He won at Hamilton last time when the second was well regarded and he’s pleased us at home since. It’s a race we like as we won it last year with Mitbaahy and this will tell us a lot more about him.

George Boughey, trainer of Perdika
She has a 3lb penalty for winning a Listed race in France last time and is back in trip, but she’s not short of speed and blew out nicely on the watered gallop on Tuesday.

Adrian Nicholls, trainer of Can To Can
She hated the track at Epsom last time when things didn’t go to plan from her outside draw. If she comes back to the form of her previous win at Newcastle, she would have a chance and we’ve left the blinkers off as we only used them once to get her switched on. If she could nick third, we’d be over the moon.

Clive Cox, trainer of Katey Kontent
She has a bit to find on ratings but is a filly we hold in high regard. After a brief hold-up earlier in the year, she's back in good form now.
Reporting by David Milnes

Saturday previews:

2.00 York: 'He looks to have a really good chance' - top Irish amateur Jody Townend excited about first British Flat ride    

2.15 Sandown: 'He has a better chance than the odds suggest' - analysis and trainer quotes for compelling mile handicap    

3.05 York: Who looks set to benefit most from a strongly run Grand Cup at York?    

3.20 Chester: 'I'll be surprised if anything beats her out of the gates' - can anyone catch in-form front-runner?    

3.40 York: 'Our three all have an ideal profile' - analysis and key quotes for ultra-competitive Macmillan Sprint    

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