It was all about the juveniles last week, and as you would expect there were plenty of horses who enhanced their credentials for next year’s Classics. Precise looks the most obvious Classic winner after her easy last-to-first victory in the Fillies’ Mile, while Gewan has more than a faint whiff of Chaldean about him following his success in the Dewhurst Stakes.

Chaldean won the 2,000 Guineas for Gewan’s trainer Andrew Balding two years ago after taking the Dewhurst, and it’s within the realms of possibility that lightning could strike twice, particularly since Aidan O’Brien seemingly doesn’t ready his best three-year-olds for Newmarket in May anymore and Charlie Appleby doesn’t appear to have any superstars. 

However, the one horse at Newmarket who really struck me as being completely out of the ordinary was neither the Fillies’ Mile nor the Dewhurst winner but Pierre Bonnard, who looked a totally different species when running away with the Zetland Stakes. He came into the race with a strange profile for one of O’Brien’s in that he won his maiden on the all-weather at Dundalk and looked to have plenty of boxes that needed to be ticked. However, at Newmarket he succeeded in crossing off the Holy Trinity of things that I think make up a top-class performer. 

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Published on 15 October 2025inTom Segal

Last updated 10:00, 15 October 2025