Hugo Palmer Saturday runners blog - October 3, 2026

1.00 Newmarket – Velociraptor

Velociraptor takes on Night Of Vegas at Newmarket, and it’s obviously a tough race with a very good horse to beat. We like our horse, though. He hasn’t done an awful lot wrong, although we felt he was a little bit weak when he ran in the Stonehenge Stakes, so we gave him a little bit of a break afterwards. He seems to have come back stronger and better for that.

He’s a big, powerful horse and I think his best days are still ahead of him. Night Of Vegas is obviously a very tough nut to crack and has had an excellent year, but he is giving us a little bit of weight, and he has been on the go for a long time, having won at Goodwood at the opening meeting. I’m certainly not underestimating him, but if there was ever going to be a time when we could try to crack that particular nut, then perhaps now is the time.

3.00 Ascot – Stratusnine & Fitzella

We’ve got Stratusnine and Fitzella in the Group 3 at Ascot, and it’s a competitive race. They’ve both had long seasons, but they seem to be in really good form at home, so we’ll just have to see how they get on.

Fitzella has also changed ownership, and it will be interesting to see how she gets on in her new colours. If she can reproduce the sort of form we know she is capable of, then she has every chance of running a good race.

3.20 Redcar – Stardom Glory

Stardom Glory runs in the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar, which is a race we won last year with Ardisia. It’s a slightly different profile this time around, of course. Stardom Glory is a little more backward than some of the horses he’s taking on, but he has plenty of ability and we’re hoping he can put up another good performance.

It is disappointing that the race hasn’t filled more, particularly given the history of the race and how valuable it used to be. The first prize this year is £85,000, compared with £118,000 last year, so it’s a little frustrating to see a race of this nature not attracting a bigger field. Nevertheless, we’re looking forward to seeing Stardom Glory run and hopefully he can give a good account of himself.

5.20 Southwell – High Hazard

High Hazard has been a little bit disappointing recently, so we’re hoping he can bounce back to form at Southwell. We’ve been waiting for him to step up to a mile and that’s what we’re doing now. Hopefully, the extra distance can bring about some improvement because he definitely has the ability to win races. We know there is a good horse in there, and we’re hoping we can see more of that on Saturday.

Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe thoughts

It looks set to be another strong renewal of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, but I do think Daryz will be very hard to beat. His form on soft ground is excellent, but his form on faster ground earlier in the year was very good as well.

That said, there are some interesting horses in opposition. Maltese Cross is an improving horse, Diamond Necklace has been very impressive, and Friendly Soul is another one I like. I’ve always thought Friendly Soul would stay a mile and a half. Not many Kingman runners stay a mile and a half, but she stayed very well in the Vermeille, and she’s a Group 1 winner. Her connections are also very good at getting horses to step up in trip. But, ultimately, I think the favourite is the right favourite, and he could go back-to-back in the race.

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