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Impressive Raaqy primed to star at Sandown

RAAQY is certainly bred to be above average and she can live up to her lofty expectations in the Irish Champions Weekend EBF Stallions Star Stakes at Sandown.

She is by sire-of-the-moment Dubawi and out of a 1000 Guineas winner in Natagora, so hopes were always going to be high she could live up to the exploits of her parents.

Given her dam landed the Cheveley Park as a two-year-old, there was always a hope she could be fairly precocious, and there must have been a huge sigh of relief from Hamdan Al Maktoum and the team when the home-bred made a winning debut at Doncaster.

Nothing much went right for Raaqy on Town Moor - she looked like being trapped in at one stage - and Paul Hanagan had to sit and suffer.

But when the gap appeared, she took it and showed a willing attitude to get up on the line to win.

As much as there was to like about the run, the form has worked out great and she meets a couple of those, Dessertoflife and Aneesah, who finished behind her again.

The former, who finished fourth at Doncaster, struck on her next start and was not disgraced in the Chesham at Royal Ascot, while the seventh home, Aneesah, had no trouble winning next time, either.

While they now have more experience than Raaqy, there was so much promise in her display she could be open to more improvement.

John Gosden's SECATEUR can defy top weight in the Download The Unibet Racing App Handicap.

A beaten favourite on soft ground at Chester's May meeting, back on a sounder surface he trounced a decent field at Newmarket last month, forcing the handicapper to take action.

He needs to defy a 12lb rise but looks the type to keep on progressing now he is upped in trip.

FORCE also represents Gosden and Highclere Racing in the Bathwick Tyres EBF Stallions Maiden Stakes at Newbury and it will be a shock if he fails to win.

Quietly fancied by many for the Chesham at Ascot, he was not disgraced when finishing fifth.

Having been keen early on, he did himself no favours but has the stand-out piece of form on offer.

Without threatening to be a superstar, COMICAS has shown enough to suggest he can win races for Charlie Appleby.

He will be having his third outing in the Trent Maiden Stakes at Doncaster and should be wise enough now.


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