Kevin Stott’s William Hill Blog: Mojo should be a Star

I’ve been having a great week with a fair bit of luck in some nice races at Newmarket, so let’s see if I can keep it up at Newbury on Saturday. I’ve three rides for AMO and one for David Evans and they should all be ready for a good run at least, and maybe even a win or two!

Newbury, Saturday

Mojo Star is first up on Saturday in the Group 3 Finest Surprise Stakes (1.30pm). This race is a mile and a half and, ideally, this horse wants a longer trip having run for second in the Ascot Gold Cup over a mile further, but we have to start somewhere. He’s ready to run, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on the ground with more rain due as he’d prefer better going. If it doesn’t get too soft, this could be a great place to start and I’m really looking forward to getting on this horse. Even now he looks open to improvement and he’s got a very exciting season ahead.

Afterwards I’ll ride Magical Sunset in the Group 3 Fred Darling (2.05pm). I had another tough decision to make here on whether to ride her or Olivia Maralda, who also runs in this race, but ultimately chose Magical Sunset who I think will go better on the ground. With a win on heavy ground at Newbury in October, she’s the better qualified filly in these conditions. Hopefully I’ve chosen correctly this time! I’m really looking forward to getting on board this one.

Third is Great Max in the Spring Cup (3.15pm). He’s joined Alice Haynes for this season and hopefully the change of scene will have done him good as he’s clearly got ability. I’ve ridden plenty of work on him and have been happy. The ground is a bit of a question for him, but then it’s a question for all these horses! He might want further in time, but for now, he should be competitive in this field.

My final ride on Saturday is Wind Your Neck In (4.55pm). He’s won on soft ground twice before at Newmarket as a two-year-old, so the hope is that he’ll be good again here. He carries top-weight, but let’s see if we can get him back to winning ways on the ground he likes best.