15 Jun 2020

Confidence for Sceptical in Diamond Jubilee Stakes

A scintillating field of 12 have been entered for next weekend’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes – including several familiar faces that have lit up the sprinting division for several years.

The standout name runner though is a newcomer,  Sceptical, trained by Denis Hogan. It’s been a steep rise through the ranks for the four-year-old who only set foot on a racecourse for the first time at the tail end of 2019. He hasn’t looked back since then, racking up four consecutive wins, most recently streaking clear to win the Woodland Stakes at Naas. That performance certainly suggested he would be a real force to be reckoned with at the top level.

This race has a tendency to attract old adversaries and this year is no exception. Winner of the 2017 renewal,  the eight-year-old The Tin Man will be having his fifth run in this race. Age though seems to be just a number in the sprinting divisoin and his form figures in the race read 8146, so another strong performance would come as no surprise at all.

Dream of Dreams for Sir Michael Stoute went very close in this race last year when bearing down late on to try and stop the champion, Blue Point. With another fast-run race set to unfold his off-the-pace tactics could prove a big plus once again.

Other notable runners include Hello Youmzain for Kevin Ryan, winner of the Betfair Haydock Sprint Cup last year before a slightly sub-par display in the QIPCO Champions Sprint at QIPCO British Champions Day, and One Master who was third in last year’s Queen Anne Stakes before securing a second 7F Group 1 win in the Prix De La Foret.

Full Entries:

Breathtaking Look, Dream of Dreams, Forever In Dreams, Hello Youmzain, Khaadem, One Master, Sands of Mali, Sceptical, Sergei Prokofiev, Shine So Bright, Speak In Colours, The Tin Man