Predictions for the 2023 Flat season including horses, trainers and jockeys to note

Andrea Atzeni drives more than 100 winners on the Flat in Great Britain in 2023

Andrea Atzeni has not ridden 100 winners in a calendar year in the UK since 2018, but I expect he will rectify that in the coming months as he returns to life as a freelance jockey after splitting from prominent owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum split last September.

Atzeni spent eight years as Sheikh Obaid’s number one rider and together they had plenty of success at the highest level with the likes of Postponed, Defoe and Emaraaty Ana all Group One winners on British soil.

However, it is fair to say that Atzeni has endured a rather frustrating run of his own high standards in recent years and I was surprised to learn that one of the most accomplished jockeys in the weigh room has only ridden a Group/Grade One winner is – Emaraaty Ana in the 2021 Haydock Sprint Cup – since the start of the 2020 season.

Atzeni was also a less common sight at British circuits in 2022, with a tally of 386, fewer than any season since he first started racing in Britain in 2008.

A 20% strike rate showed the Sardinian-born rider can still get the job done when given the opportunity and it will be a surprise if he doesn’t get a lot more support this season, especially as he does now has the luxury of setting his own schedule rather than being dictated by running schedules for Sheikh Obaid’s horses.

After a long ride in the Middle East in the winter, Atzeni has certainly started the domestic campaign on a positive note, with eight winners from 34 rides at a 24% batting rate. His winners came from six different stables, including those of Marco Botti, Richard Hannon, Alan King, Freddie & Martyn Meade and Hugo Palmer.

Perhaps most importantly, Atzeni has ridden three winners from just five rides for Charlie Johnston, the most prolific farm in the country, flawlessly pretty much every year. A club like this could be just what Atzeni needs to be among the winners more regularly in 2023. Adam Houghton

Ralph Beckett Three-year-olds to make a big impact

Salisbury’s game on Thursday 29 September might not have looked unusual, but it’s worth revisiting with a view to the season ahead.

Ralph Beckett won the first three races on the card with a trio of youthful newcomers heading into 2023 undefeated and open to plenty of progress.

Bluestocking, If Not Now and Remarquee all show promise in their own right, but it was the latter who achieved the most on debut and looked like a group class filly heading home at the end of a race actually run, beating the experienced favourite.

This feat earned Remarquee the Timeform Large P, a sparingly used symbol that indicates a horse is capable of much better form.

Alongside a host of dark horses, Beckett already has some top performers in his ranks, including Salt Bay, who was beaten by less than two lengths in third place in Group 1’s Criterium International, and Lezoo, whose four wins included two-in-group were 1 Cheveley Park appearances.

Lezoo wears the shirts of Marc Chan, whose Kinross also won four times last season, including a couple of Group 1 wins, and he will return for more in 2023 at the age of six. Last season’s Irish Derby winner Westover has also remained in training – he was a good second place behind Equinox at the Dubai Sheema Classic on Saturday – adding further firepower to the stable, which is primed for a good season. Tony McFadden

Bridestones are having a big season

I like to cling to a John Gosden-trained filly (sorry Thady, old habits die hard) early in her career when I can, and Godolphin’s Bridestones strikes me as a top performer in the making. I have backed her for the Oaks at Epsom and I hope she develops into a Group 1 horse of that strain but whichever route the Gosdens plan for her I will be following her three year old season closely.

By Teofilo out of White Moonstone, she is beautifully bred and a half sister to a 1m4f winner, Sea Stone, so the middle distances will likely be her bag later in the season. She only ran once at two but showed a lot of promise as she easily landed a Yarmouth Virgin thanks to good driving and quick gear changes.

It’s a breed that Gosden has used in the past as a launching pad for black-type fillies like Shaara, Thunder Drum, Frankly Darling, Fanny Logan and Mehdaayih, and Bridestones looks like the latest cab off the shelf, so hopefully she’ll be in pitching a nice Oaks test in the spring before heading to something like the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot or, fingers crossed, the Oaks themselves. Ben Linfoot

Denmark can develop into a top performer in the middle distance

Ante-post markets for the Guineas 2000, Derby and St Leger suggest Auguste Rodin is the best classic hope for Aidan O’Brien and Ballydoyle this season, but I have a sly feeling that Denmark this year could pass him, especially once over medium distances.

Making a winning debut over a mile at Naas he looked like a bright prospect. He showed clear signs of inexperience but drifted away from his rivals as the penny started to drop in the closing stages. He started his next start as a favorite for a sales race at Longchamp but again looked very green as he veered out of his comfort zone onto the straight but again stayed strong on the line, just missing the winner.

Denmark was bred by Derby winner Camelot as a three-year-old and out of an intelligent mare who was able to shine as a runner-up in the Prix de l’Opera over medium distances. He doesn’t strike me as a Guineas guy but the 25/1 being offered for the Derby looks very appealing indeed. Andrew Asquith

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