Raid attacks late in Gr.3 Greenham Stakes

Qatar Racing's Raid ran a cracker for such an inexperienced colt when a close fourth in the Gr.3 Greenham Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

Raid lined up against six rivals in the Gr.3 Al Basti Equiworld Supporting Greatwood Greenham Stakes over seven furlongs, a key trial for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on May 5, and all were Stakes winners. Favourite Expert Eye, James Garfield and Fighting Irish had all won Gr.2s in 2017, while Hey Gaman, Cold Stare and Connect had all scored at Listed level. Raid wore a hood for the first time.

Held up by Oisin Murphy in the early stages, Raid was initially green when asked for his full effort two furlongs out but really found his feet late on, beaten only a length and a half at the line. James Garfield and Expert Eye filled the first two places, with Hey Gaman in third - the performance showed Raid very much deserved his place in Group company.

Raid will improve for his reappearance and could now represent Qatar Racing and David Simcock in the 2,000 Guineas, while Worship could represent the same connections in the 1,000 Guineas the following day. Both are from the first crop by Qatar Racing's own stallion Havana Gold, who stands at Tweenhills Stud in Gloucestershire. Havana Gold is also the sire of another 2,000 Guineas contender, Headway, as well as other Stakes winners Havana Grey and Treasuring.