Highly-rated Brioni worth watching at Kempton on Wednesday evening

November 14

Alan has enjoyed another great season on the Flat, and, though he has not got too many more to run on the all-weather before the end of the year, he has already clocked up 28 winners on the level, one more than trainer Sir Michael Stoute, whose tally include the much-lamented Derby hero Desert Crown.

Raking up that fact might embarrass the boss, but he can be proud of the year he has had on the level, highlighted, of course, by Trueshan clocking up another G1 success in France.

However, the fact that at Kempton tomorrow evening Alan is happy to run one of his nicest two-year-olds, Brioni, against well-touted youngsters from Godolphin, William Haggas, John Gosden and Roger Varian is highly significant. David Egan rides.

Brioni has a staying pedigree, so is obviously one who was bought with next year and beyond in mind, though Alan and Anthony Bromley clearly like this Cloth of Stars colt, having gone to 130,000gns to buy him at the Tattersalls Breeze-Up Sales at Newmarket last April.

The pair were chuffed to bits with the way Brioni shaped on his debut in soft ground at Sandown in September. He saw plenty of daylight on the outside up the straight, yet only lost second place in the dying strides, eventually taking minor honours behind two more-experienced juveniles, a great run for a 40-1 shot.

That race will have done Brioni the world of good, and Alan is looking forward to seeing how he shapes here. He said:”Very few of mine run as well as he did first time out – in fact I think I’ve only had one two-year-old ever win on his debut – and if they do exceed my expectations it usually means that they are smart.

“It was even softer at Newmarket last month than it has been at Sandown, so we opted not to run Brioni, but I’m keen to give him another race before putting him away for next season, and stepping up to a mile ought to suit him.”

We also have a runner in the first leg of that novice, Midnight Rumble (Liam Keniry), who was also a Breeze-Up purchase, being snapped up for 50,000 at the Guineas sale. He ran well for a long way on his debut at Goodwood but then got into a right old lather before disappointing at Salisbury. He’ll be qualified to start next season in handicaps after this third run.