totesport Cambridgeshire and totesport Cesarewitch attract huge, high class entries

With combined entries up by 25% on last year and Group Race performers set to head the weights in both races, the £130,000 totesport Cambridgeshire Handicap on Saturday 2nd October and the £130,000 totesport Cesarewitch Handicap on Saturday 16th October, both run on Newmarket´s Rowley Mile Racecourse, promise to be ultra-competitive, high class affairs this year. There are 133 entries in the 1m1f totesport Cambridgeshire, up from 108 last year, and 99 in the 2m2f totesport Cesarewitch, up from 78 last year.
Click here for Cambridgeshire Entries.
Click here for Cesarewitch Entries.

The incentive of the £100,000 totesport Autumn Double bonus for any stable that can win both races has seen 25 trainers make entries in both races, with Sir Mark Prescott, Mark Johnston, Amanda Perrett, Michael Jarvis and Dermot Weld all looking to hold particularly strong hands at this early stage. If won, the trainer will receive £30,000 and the stable staff will share in the other £70,000.

totesport Cambridgeshire Click here for Entries.

In the totesport Cambridgeshire, Godolphin´s ANCIENT WORLD, so impressive under top weight in the William Hill Mile at Goodwood in July before probably finding the rain-softened ground against him when favourite for the Group 3 totesport Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury last time, looks the likely top weight just ahead of David Elsworth´s evergreen seven-year-old, PAWN BROKER. The latter went down by only half a length in the Group 3 Newmarket Darley Stakes over the totesport Cambridgeshire course and distance on Champions´ Day last year and landed the third Listed race victory of his career on his latest start on the July Course this season.

Sir Mark Prescott, who took the race 12 months ago with Chivalry, has a trio of entries in the race, most notably MASAFI, who rattled up 7 victories in just 18 days in July. He has also entered COAT OF HONOUR, winner of the Sterling Insurance Summer Stakes at Goodwood in July, and the lightly raced PEDRILLO who could be anything after just three runs, the latest of which was an easy victory in a Brighton maiden when stepped up to 7 furlongs.

Mark Johnston´s quartet of entries includes a trio of winners this season in GOLD HISTORY, successful in a Listed Race over course and distance in April, MASTER MARVEL, who won a handicap at the UltimateBet.com Guineas Festival in May over a mile, and MYSTICAL GIRL.

Amanda Perrett´s four entries include the impressive winner of the ladbrokes.com Handicap at Goodwood, ART TRADER, who looks very much on the upgrade, while Michael Jarvis´s three entries include ST ANDREWS, who looked to have a big handicap in him after failing so narrowly in the valuable totescoop6 Stakes at Sandown earlier this season, and PUTRA KUANTAN, successful in a Sandown handicap in May.

Dermot Weld, who can never be overlooked with his overseas raiders, has two entries in BATTLING MAC and PRIZE TIME, with the former looking particularly interesting having won three races in a row in September and October last year and having shown steady improvement in three runs to date this season.

Other in-form entries to take the eye include the Gay Kelleway-trained VORTEX, Geoff Wragg´s AUTUMN GLORY and Patrick Chamings´ TAKE A BOW, who has been a force to be reckoned with this season.

totesport Cesarewitch Click here for Entries.

Dual Ascot Gold Cup (Group 1) winner, ROYAL REBEL, is certain to head the weights in the totesport Cesarewitch and is one of 8 entries for Mark Johnston. Though perhaps not quite the horse he once was after the best part of two years off the course following his 2002 Gold Cup victory, his 4th place in this year´s Gold Cup and second place in the Lady O Goodwood Cup (Group 2) still make him a force to be reckoned with.

Another fascinating Johnston entry is the ex-French-trained PUSHKIN, beaten only a head in the Prix du Cadran (Group 1) at Longchamp two years ago before moving to Dubai where he had just the one run for Kevin McAuliffe. The six-year-old has yet to race for Johnston. DOUBLE OBSESSION, ALWAYS WAINING and YOSHKA, all with winning form this year, are other Johnston entries to take the eye.

Sir Mark Prescott has 7 very strong contenders in the race, who between them have racked up a plethora of victories in the last two seasons. They include NO REFUGE, as yet unraced this year, but who won 4 handicaps and was never out of the first three in 8 starts last year; ONE OFF, winner of 6 races in a row last year and who made a satisfactory reappearance in a Listed Race in Ireland on Sunday; FALL IN LINE who has not run since landing 6 in a row on the all-weather at the start of this year; TEMPSFORD, who won 5 races last year; and ELUSIVE DREAM, a winner of 4 races in a row last month.

Amanda Perrett also has 7 entries, notably BIG MOMENT, who has run consistently well in three big handicaps this season; TEN CARAT, a winner of three in a row last year; the lightly raced, but improving IT´S A LIMIT; the well-bred, twice-raced four-year-old MAGICAL QUEST, who could be anything after bolting up in a maiden last time; and two improving three-year-olds in SOULACROIX and TUNGSTEN STRIKE.

Michael Jarvis´s trio includes his impressive Chester Cup winner, ANAK PEKAN, and PEAK OF PERFECTION, who won three races in a row in June and July.

Dermot Weld has once again entered one of his stable stalwarts, DIRECT BEARING, who went down by only a head in this race two years ago and was fourth last year. He has been kept to chasing so far this year. Weld has also entered ANSAR, who won the Grade 1 Galway Plate on has latest start though has not won on the flat for four years, while his trio is completed by the lightly raced three-year-old, ORPINGTON, winner of his last two races.

Others to note amongst the entries include DOROTHY´S FRIEND, a winner of 6 of his last 9 starts for trainer Roger Charlton; the winner of the totesport Cesarewitch in 2001, DISTANT PROSPECT, who also finished a very creditable 4th two years ago and 7th last year for trainer Andrew Balding; NUMITAS, who finished in midfield in this race last year when trained by Sir Mark Prescott and who has gained plenty of confidence in three recent easy novice hurdle victories for Philip Hobbs; and CUPBOARD LOVER, who won three out of five on the flat in 2002 after switching back from a successful period over hurdles, but who has been off the course for the last 18 months. He represents Nicky Henderson´s stable, who sent out Landing Light to win this race last season.

Michael Prosser, Clerk of the Course at Newmarket, commented: 'We could not be happier with the entries for these two historic handicaps and I am sure that there will be a ferocious ante-post market for both the Autumn Double races once totesport open their book when the weights are announced next week.'