HOT SILK
5.10 - BetMGM Supports Safer Gambling Maiden Fillies' Stakes (1m)
It’s a dynamite distaff line for Hot Silk to tap into, being a daughter of Silk Sari, runner-up in the 2014 Qipco British Fillies & Mares, and a great-granddaughter of classic-winning Gossamer. Her debut came in an above-average fillies’ maiden at Yarmouth last October, won clearly by Godolphin’s odds-on Ottoman Empress, but Hot Silk wasn’t beaten far in the bunch behind, finishing fifth, but she was the second-fastest in the hottest part of the race.
We don’t know what she’s up against as there are three newcomers in the field, including another Too Darn Hot who cost 480,000 guineas as a yearling, the Andrew Balding-trained Zeriya, but it’s easy to envisage Hot Silk running to a rating in the 80s given her platform, her promise and her pedigree, and there’s a relevant reference point in Estissa, a similar stablemate who returned with a bang at Wolverhampton recently.
DORNEY LAKE
5.48 - Make The Move To Midnite Handicap (6f)
Things are starting to happen for Middleham-based trainer Liam Bailey, who’s already had seven winners in the first quarter of 2026, following on from back-to-back yearly bests of 15, landing a few gambles along the way, and newish recruit Dorney Lake has the feel of one who’ll be reviving sooner rather than later.
He has dropped 11 lb in five runs for the yard since bought out of Michael Bell’s stable, but he’s finding his feet again and, despite beating only one home last time, after settled in the rear, he actually recorded the top speed in the race, a significant stat for teasing a turnaround. It’s playing a hunch more than anything, but the matters of fact are that Dorney Lake is very well handicapped and has the inside draw to work with.
WHAT’S THE PLAN
6.18 - Bet 10 Get 40 With BetMGM Handicap (1m)
In the last few weeks, Sky Safari and Pina Sonata have won two of the most meaningful All-Weather events, the Winter Derby and listed Snowdrop Stakes respectively, and so it’s over to you, their younger half-brother What’s The Plan, for the next round of racing family fortunes.
The initial spark had fizzled out by the end of his first season, but he was out of his depth in a sales races and possibly over the top when beaten favourite in a nursery, though the subsequent 3 lb drop makes him eligible for this 0-75, which you wouldn’t have thought from his good groundwork in maidens, placed behind Sirius A (now rated 98) at Leicester and Shayem (106) at Haydock before winning snugly on synthetics at Lingfield with a turn of foot that’s something of a family trait. Gelded since last year, What’s The Plan could be a cut above these.
ESPANITA
7.18 - Win 250,000 With BetMGM's Golden Goals Handicap (7f)
Comic Hero has a mark of 78, while Galileo Charm is 68, which makes it more a calculation than estimation that Espanita has been let in lightly off 70 for her handicap debut. She was second to the former (beaten less than a length) on her debut, and her subsequent defeat of Galileo Charm at Wolverhampton looks all the better after that one won a handicap back there two weeks later.
Charlie Johnston hasn’t missed the golden opportunity to run her in a 0-70 while he can, and though she cost only €13,000 as a yearling, her dam was a Chilean champion as well as a Group 2 winner in Dubai. Espanita looks a real racer, eager to go on the attack at Wolverhampton, and the others will do very well to contain her from that mark.
SOLANNA
8.18 - Create Your Bet Builders At Midnite Handicap (1m 3f)
The forecast says “weak” on the pace tab on attheraces.com, but that’s a set-up that needn’t worry Solanna, who shone in similar scenario – and did so from last to first – at Kempton a fortnight ago with so fast a finish that it generated the flame symbol, not the first time he’s done so either, a useful weapon at this sort of level. He was ridden, for the first time, that day by Rossa Ryan, who’s clearly keen to team up once again.
A 2 lb rise rather masked his superiority, while also keeping him in the 0-70 bracket, and historically his wins have tended to come in spurts. The prolific Latin has one last chance to climb higher than his current fifth in the Horse of the Year table but he has never convinced when tried beyond 10f.
