Highest Ground has the perfect chance to enhance Stoute’s superb race record

WHENEVER the Hardwicke is mentioned, Sir Michael Stoute’s race record should bounce to the forefront of your mind. The legendary Newmarket trainer has farmed this event, which suits his patient training model with middle-distance prospects, with 11 winners since a breakthrough strike with Dihistan in 1986. Can Highest Ground increase his record?

The bookmakers would have you believe the Niarchos family-owned four-year-old is one of the more unlikely winners and this season’s form would back up that opinion, but it is foolish to write off a Stoute trainee.

Highest Ground, whose sire Frankel has had an excellent week at Royal Ascot, was thought likely to go right to the top last season when sent off 8-11 favourite in the delayed Dante at York.

A strong move with three furlongs to go took the then unbeaten colt to the front, only for rider Oisin Murphy to subsequently regret going for home too soon, as he was worn down by the strong staying Thunderous.

Murphy, who hasn’t ridden Highest Ground on his three subsequent starts, now gets the chance to make amends as he returns to the saddle after Highest Ground’s workmanlike victory in a conditions race at Leicester. Maybe that confidence-boosting win and the quick turnaround will see him to good effect.

On official ratings, he has around half a stone to find with Broome and Hukum, who boast contrasting profiles.

Broome, who returned to form during a busy earlyseason campaign, has stamina to prove on the step up to 1m4f. His form figures at the trip and over further read 4640, while all three successes this term have come over 1m2f.

The five-year-old brigade of Broome, stablemate Japan, 2019 St Leger winner Logician and runner-up Sir Ron Priestley, Bangkok and Pablo Escobarr will try to defy recent trends. Only one horse aged five in the last 13 years – Defoe in 2019 – has won this race, with all the rest four-year-olds.

We know almost as little about Hukum as any other runner in the race bar Melbourne Cup runner-up Tiger Moth, who has had just six runs and needs to bounce back after a disappointing reappearance.

Hukum’s lightly raced profile indicates he hasn’t been the easiest to train. Early immaturity led to just two juveniles starts, while he picked up a nasty-looking cut when scoring in the King

George V Stakes at this meeting last term.

Racing Post Ratings suggest he’s been below his best in two starts this year, perhaps due to the fact he’s been slowly tuned up for this race. His course form is hard to overlook as well.

With the rain that has fallen, soft-ground specialist Wonderful Tonight has become a strong contender against the boys. She is already a Group 1 winner over this course and distance and connections delayed an early trip to the breeding sheds in order to come back for a much anticipated four-year-old campaign. Her record fresh (0-2) is a slight concern.

Another to consider is antepost Ebor favourite Ilaraab, who was one of the most improved horses around last season and took his winning streak to six when he stayed on powerfully to take the Jorvik Handicap at York last month. William Haggas wouldn’t run a handicap winner in a race like this for no reason and clearly believes he has the class to feature.

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