Turf Talk - The Circus is the ‘big tip’ at Newbury while Brazen Belle is the standout choice at Ripon

John Gosden’s youngster was seemingly not that well fancied for her Rowley Mile introduction just over a month ago, but shaped with abundant promise to place third - beaten a shade under two lengths by the winner, Valpolicella.

The fact that the latter went on to finish a creditable fifth behind the seriously impressive Dandalla in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot gives the form a solid look, while two horses who finished behind the The Circus - Chica Bella and Risk Of Thunder - have won since.

The daughter of Iffraaj is expected to get off the mark in Berkshire before testing the water at stakes level before too long.

Annie De Vega has a very similar profile heading into division two of the Oakley Coachbuilders Super Sport Novice Stakes.

The daughter of Lope De Vega was the clear favourite on her first start at Nottingham - and while she came up a little short, she was far from disgraced in finishing third behind a couple of more experienced horses in subsequent Listed winner King Carney and Damage Control, who has also struck gold since. That experience will not have been lost on Ralph Beckett’s charge and she is expected to go a couple of places better.

Spirited Guest will not be winning out of turn if claiming top honours in the Oakley Coachbuilders Supremacy Horseboxes Handicap.

The four-year-old has done the majority of his racing on the all-weather, a move which yielded wins at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford last autumn.

Since his return from a break, George Margarson’s inmate has finished sixth at Kempton and second at Chelmsford and Windsor.

His latter performance in going down by just a head to Badayel indicates he is just as effective on turf as on an artificial surface.

A 4lb hike for a defeat is never ideal, but a mark of 81 does not look insurmountable for Spirited Guest if things go his way.

The David O’Meara-trained Brazen Belle can give weight and a beating to her rivals in the Sky Sports Racing Sky 415 Fillies’ Novice Auction Stakes at Ripon.

The two-year-old is out of the yard’s high-class sprinting mare Pepper Lane - and appears to have inherited a good bit of her ability judged on her debut success at Beverley, where she overcame a tardy start to justify market confidence and win with some authority.

The runner-up, Miss Milby, was again beaten only narrowly on her next appearance, while the third, 66-1 shot Crown Princess, has since proved her effort was no fluke with victory at Catterick.

Brazen Belle had a Listed option at York later in the week, and holds an entry in Weatherbys Super Sprint. She should make it two from two in this sort of company before having her sights raised later in the summer.

King’s Castle gets the nod in the Follow @attheraces On Twitter Handicap in North Yorkshire.

Fourth behind Sunday’s French Derby hero Mishriff at Nottingham last November, the William Haggas-trained Camelot colt made the perfect start to his 2020 campaign when winning at Beverley three weeks ago.

A mark of 80 for his handicap debut could prove lenient for a horse open to stacks of improvement.

Nineohtwooneoh looks banker material over the jumps at Stratford.

Having shown a decent level of ability over hurdles without setting the world alight, the JP McManus-owned gelding made a mockery of his mark of 104 when bolting up on his chasing bow at Southwell last week.

It is no surprise Paul Nicholls has elected to send him into battle again quickly under a 7lb penalty and he should make the most of what looks an excellent opportunity.

SOBOT’S SELECTIONS

NEWBURY: 4.40 Peerless, 5.10 THE CIRCUS (NAP), 5.40 Spirited Guest, 6.10 Wren, 6.40 Puerto Banus, 7.10 Nova Roma, 7.40 Annie De Vega (next best), 8.10 Dubai Quality, 8.40 Torolight.

RIPON: 12.00 Brazen Belle, 12.35 War Of Clans, 1.10 Justified, 1.40 King’s Castle, 2.10 Dark Jedi, 2.40 Global Spirit, 3.10 Deep Snow, 3.40 Abbotside.

STRATFORD: 12.15 Beau Sancy, 12.45 Seddon, 1.20 Mighty Meg, 1.50 Joie De Vivre, 2.20 Nineohtwooneoh, 2.50 Getaway North, 3.20 Jamacho, 3.50 Captain Buck’s, 4.20 Jack Snipe.

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