Night Raider stole the show at Newcastle on Saturday as he delivered a dominant front-running victory in the Listed BetUK Golden Rose Stakes.
Karl Burke’s runner posted three consecutive sub 11-second furlongs during the six-furlong sprint, pouring it on to beat the 112-rated Annaf by almost four lengths.
Now four from four on artificial surfaces, the son of Dark Angel has options at home and overseas for the winter.
The success formed part of a quick-fire double for champion jockey Oisin Murphy, who captured the preceding 10-furlong Listed BetUK Churchill Stakes on The Foxes.
Winning for the first time since last year’s G2 Dante Stakes, Andrew Balding’s charge dictated at the head of affairs and found plenty to beat a luckless Dubai Honour by three lengths.
Following his impressive win, The Foxes has been supplemented for next month’s G1 Hong Kong Cup.
Murphy said of both winners: “Night Raider was very comfortable going a good gallop and has beaten two decent benchmarks in Annaf and Wiltshire.
“Karl said he will break well and that I should not fight him. He has that really good cruising speed, even though Newcastle is probably a difficult track to do it on.
“He is a sprinter to follow and I wouldn’t imagine his jockey will be interfering with his natural way of going.
“The Foxes has very good form. Andrew has brought him along slowly. He needed his race at Newmarket, but today he was really good.
“Andrew did not give me any instructions. The horse relaxed in front and showed a bit of class.
“It wasn’t a bad field, and Dubai Honour obviously had a penalty, but The Foxes always looked the winner and it is very fulfilling to see him back in this sort of shape.”
William Haggas may have been out of luck with Dubai Honour but the Newmarket trainer enjoyed a good day at Lingfield Park last week as he landed both Listed races on the card.
G1 Yorkshire Oaks fifth Sea Theme stamped her class on the 13-furlong BetMGM River Eden EBF Fillies' Stakes, overcoming a 3lb penalty to beat Beeley by a length and a quarter.
Doom, who was third in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot, also benefited from a drop down in class as she posted a comfortable victory in the mile BetMGM Fleur De Lys EBF Fillies' Stakes.
Roger Varian’s good spell continued as Bobby Bennu annexed a seven-furlong handicap on the same Lingfield Park card. The Middleham Park three-year-old has seen his rating climb 3lb to 97.
Stable-mate Qazaq looks a contender in the Mile category after narrowly defying a mark of 89 on his handicap debut at Southwell. The son of Kingman is unbeaten in three starts, having previously taken novice races at Chelmsford and Kempton Park.
Southwell also witnessed a notable performance from Marco Botti’s Prometeo, who completed a three-timer on his return from a break in an 11-furlong handicap. The handicapper has reacted with a 3lb rise to 86.
Brummell is one of the big handicap movers of the week, with Julie Camacho’s runner going up 9lb to 80 for winning a five-furlong Newcastle handicap in taking fashion on his second run back after wind surgery.
