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12 Entered For The Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes
The opening Flat meeting of the season at Newbury Racecourse – The Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Meeting – features three Group 3 races, including the Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes as well as the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Stakes, registered as The John Porter Stakes, and the Dubai Duty Free Stakes, registered as The Fred Darling Stakes.
With just a fortnight between Newbury’s first Flat fixture and The Betfred Guineas Festival, the Berkshire track will stage a series of Classic trials across the two-day meeting on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 April.
The Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes, run over seven furlongs for a prize fund of £100,000, has attracted 12 entries for its 2026 running. Among those is Aidan O’Brien’s Albert Einstein, a dual winner from two starts last season, including success in the Group 3 Marble Hill Stakes at the Curragh. The son of Wootton Bassett was strongly fancied for the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier in the year, but disappointed in his seasonal reappearance at the Curragh last month. The Ballydoyle handler has since indicated that testing ground conditions were a significant factor in the performance, while remaining confident in the colt’s prospects.
There was also some administrative confusion ahead of that run, with both Albert Einstein and stablemate Gstaad mistakenly removed from entries for the season’s first Classic on Saturday 2 May. Albert Einstein could still be supplemented back into the race.
Simon & Ed Crisford have put up Ryan Moore on Title Role, who was last seen winning the Listed 2000 Guineas at Meydan and is the second of Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Westerberg’s entries, alongside Albert Einstein.
Charlie Appleby could be represented by the well-regarded Talk Of New York, although he is also declared for today’s Conditions Stakes at Newmarket. The Godolphin trainer also holds additional entries in the race with Maximised and Time To Turn.
Zavateri, a leading juvenile last season for Eve Johnson Houghton, could make his seasonal reappearance here after winning the Group 1 National Stakes at the Curragh in September and finishing fourth in the Dewhurst Stakes on his final start of 2025. Karl Burke’s Alparslan, who also contested the Dewhurst, is also entered.
Needle Match, a maiden winner over the extended six and a half furlongs at Newbury in October, Gonna Fly, Aqpan, Ardisia and Protection Act complete the entries.
The Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Stakes, registered as the Fred Darling, has attracted 21 three-year-old fillies, headed by the Owen Burrows-trained Touleen, who also holds an entry in the QIPCO 1000 Guineas.
Among her potential rivals are, Charlie Appleby’s Act Of Kindness, Richard Hughes’ America Queen, Ed Walker’s Princess Petrol, and Catching The Moon from the Richard and Peter Fahey stable.
