Adam Williams presents his prediction for the Unibet September Stakes (Group 3, 1m4f, 3yo+) horse racing event.
Hamish and Lion's Pride come in as joint-favourites. The former, from William Haggas' stable, has had all three starts this season over the same distance. He clinched a Group 3 victory at Newbury, then finished second and fourth in the Coronation Cup (Group 1) and Princess Of Wales's Stakes (Group 2), respectively. A return to Group 3 is expected to help him, and the trainer mentioned that softer ground would be beneficial, although this race will be on polytrack.
Lion's Pride, trained by the duo John & Thady Gosden, has shown lesser results but is still considered a top contender. He has a victory at Kempton, recorded at the end of last year in a listed company. This season, however, he has not won a race, and his last result was disappointing—finishing last in the Glorious Stakes (Group 2) over 1m4f.
For Jayarebe, this will be the first start over such a long distance. The three-year-old, trained by Brian Meehan, has secured wins at Newmarket and Royal Ascot this year and finished second in the Prix Guillaume d'Ornano last time out. His only downside is that he's yet to race on a polytrack, which could be softer than any surface he's experienced.
Kalpana stands out as an intriguing option. The three-year-old filly did not race as a two-year-old, but she has already competed seven times this season, winning three and never finishing worse than third. As the only filly in the race, she carries the minimum weight of 8-10.
