Jamie Lynch, senior form analyst for attheraces.com, looks forward to the prestigious Group Three Greenham Stakes for three-year-old colts over seven furlongs at Newbury on Saturday, live Sky Sports Racing.
The eclipsing entity of City Of Troy over the generation means the goalpost for the Greenham has subtly shifted, less of a trial to be tested and more of a Group Three to be bagged, the reason for a bigger (and more varied) field than most years, though the bar seems a little lower, too.
Alaskan Gold
Oisin Murphy / Karl Burke
Saved his best for last as a two-year-old when giving Ballymount Boy a fright in the Listed sprint at Doncaster, but one or both of the mud and the visor had a galvanising effect on him there and neither is in play for his return over a trip he’s not sure to appreciate: his dam was a sprinter and she has largely produced sprinters. Not bringing a Guineas entry with him.
Army Ethos
Hollie Doyle / Archie Watson
Rated 110, Army Ethos was as high as joint-12th among the British-trained two-year-old colts of 2023, which was some achievement considering he ran only twice and not at all after June. Given how much he did in a short time and how long he was off the track, I think we can fall on the forgiving side for his reversal at 2/9 at Newcastle in March.
On the day, he excusably lacked a cutting edge, and the mind inevitably goes to team-mate Bradsell who was dull on his return from a similar absence last spring before reigniting at Royal Ascot. The seventh furlong is a question mark for one his ebullience, more so the combination of the first-time trip and first-time cheekpieces, somewhat strange bedfellows.
Ballymount Boy
James Doyle / Adrian Keatley
The most accomplished of all the Greenham field as a two-year-old, his Listed win (from Alaskan Gold) at Doncaster in late-October putting some deserved gloss on a campaign in which he held his own against some of the best, chiefly his second to the unstoppable Vandeek in the Richmond. By no means just a juvenile on looks, as he’s sizeable, scopey and the type to train on well, entered in the Guineas, but this in itself is a big day and a big chance for him.
El Bodon
Tom Marquand / Jane Chapple-Hyam
Firm foundations laid last year – second to Watch My Tracer before winning as he liked at Lingfield – but missing a few rungs of the ladder to reappear here, clearly highly regarded (Guineas entrant). Plenty going for him to think he’ll be up to this sort of level in time but has about 20lb to find with the principals for this, probably too much too soon.
Esquire
Danny Tudhope / David O’Meara
Didn’t start until late-September but did a lot in his first phase to live up to his pedigree (his grandam was Peeress), second to the fully-formed Purosangue in the Rockingham at York before getting seemingly stuck in the mud at Doncaster behind Ballymount Boy (when only 9/2). Here to find out not just if he has the class but also the stamina, as he could turn out to be a sprinter – he showed bags of speed last year and is by Harry Angel.
James’s Delight
Richard Kingscote / Clive Cox
It’s rare to see a horse like him in the Greenham, pot hunting rather than fact finding, trying to strike while the iron’s hot (and to catch a few cold) following his wide-margin win in the mud in a Pontefract handicap off 88. Even with fitness on his side it would be a surprise if he proved up to this, plus he didn’t seem to get home on his one go at 7f last year.
Mister Sketch
William Buick / Eve Johnson-Houghton
It was a substandard Mill Reef last year, but that in itself shouldn’t be a stick with which to beat runner-up Mister Sketch for whom it was another positive checkpoint following on from his nine-and-half-length – yes, nine-and-a-half-length – maiden win. He’s bred for this far and a bit further but harmonising with a new trip first time out may be easier said than done for a colt who naturally looks buzzy. Entered for the Guineas.
Room Service
Tom Eaves / Kevin Ryan
Even if he was in the right place at the right time as the race went, it’s hard to pick holes in his high-value win at Doncaster considering how the form has been boosted time and again, principally by Dragon Leader. Ought to be better still at this sort of trip this year, and has an Irish Guineas entry, but he’s already on Plan B after he was withdrawn with a temperature from the Burradon on Good Friday.
Son
Pat Dobbs / Richard Hannon
Banged his head against a figurative wall in Group Twos after a maiden win here at Newbury, though often facing better horses than he does here, and he’s very much a lively longshot given his level of form, higher than most in here have managed, plus I doubt there’ll be a better-looking horse in the field. What some see as exposed lines could also be described as hardened edges, including assured stamina (already proven at a mile). He’ll beat more than beats him.
Watch My Tracer
Callum Shepherd / George Scott
Back with a bang in the Listed Spring Cup at Lingfield, but what was called for over 7f at Lingfield is very different to here, on straight, softish turf, not to mention the classier opposition. Official rating of 99 still leaves him well short of the traditional finishing line in a Greenham.
Zoum Zoum
Rob Hornby / Ralph Beckett
Undefeated as a two-year-old, beating next-time winners on his first two starts before going to France for a slow strangulation of a Listed field, more functional than flashy all along, a grinder not a glider. Hasn’t got any Classic entries which, if anything, increases the importance of this day for him, hardly a stepping stone, and the specifics of the test will suit him very well, but frankly it’s almost impossible to back him at sub-2/1 considering there are half a dozen in here with equivalent form, if not his potential.
Jamie Lynch’s verdict
A Greenham with a twist because this year’s edition is about the here and now, not the future, the trial element of the race virtually redundant this time, highlighted by the fact the focus favourite, Zoum Zoum, hasn’t even got a Guineas entry, and he’s a skinny price considering he’s not a head let alone head and shoulders above the rest so far. It’s tempting to take a flyer on Son, but the percentage play is BALLYMOUNT BOY whose second to Vandeek is the single-best piece of form in the race, and he’s always looked a better three-year-old in the making.