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• True Cyan takes Nell Gwyn leap on seasonal bow

  Roger Varian’s True Cyan will be put to the test in the Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes at Newmarket on Wednesday.

  The grey is a daughter of No Nay Never and the smart mare Realtra, a multiple Group winner who was also trained at Carlburg Stables by Varian.

  True Cyan has run once to date, competing in a seven-furlong maiden on the Rowley Mile last September and prevailing by a length and a half.

  She now returns to the same course and distance but at Group Three level to test her credentials in the Nell Gwynn, a race that can often serve as a trial to the various 1000 Guineas contests in Europe.

  “She won her maiden well on the same track last autumn, we’re really on a mission to find out where we might go with her and what we might do this season,” said Chris Wall, racing manager to owner Shaikh Khalid’s KHK Racing organisation.

  “It looks a good opportunity to do that, it’s a competitive race and depending on how we run, we’ll know what we’re going to do in the future.

  “She’s wintered well, she’s been training satisfactorily, we’re hopeful of a positive effort and then we’ll take it from there.”

  There are proven Group performers in the race in Matrika and Dance Sequence and those horses will act as good yardsticks for True Cyan as connections seek to understand her calibre.

  “If you’re going to be stakes class, you’ll have to be up there competing with them – and if not, we’ll have to go down another route with her,” Wall said.

  “We’ll see, we’ll know a lot more after her run tomorrow but she’s done everything in the right way and has been training nicely, we’re hoping for a nice run.”

  Godolphin and Charlie Appleby’s Dance Sequence heads the market at present.

  A winner of a July Course maiden last summer, the Dubawi filly then contested the Oh So Sharp over the Nell Gwyn course and distance and prevailed again.

  That latter run was at Group Three level and the three-year-old now returns to start her season at the same grade.

  “Dance Sequence has done very well over the winter,” Appleby said on the Godolphin website.

  “She has already won over the course and distance in the Oh So Sharp Stakes and looks the one to beat again.”

  Aidan O’Brien is represented in the race by Matrika, another daughter of No Nay Never who steps up to seven furlongs having last been seen winning the Group Two Airlie Stud Stakes at the Curragh.

  Prior to that, she won her maiden and was second in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot when coming home a length behind subsequent Cheveley Park heroine Porta Fortuna.

  Ryan Moore takes the ride and told Betfair: “Dance Sequence has looked pretty good in winning in both her starts, including the Oh So Sharp Stakes, but I don’t think my filly is far behind her, if at all.

  “Her only defeat came in the Albany at Royal Ascot, when second to the subsequent Cheveley Park winner and Breeders’ Cup runner-up Porta Fortuna, and she did it well for me in a Group Two at the Curragh subsequently.

  “We didn’t see her after that win in July but the fact that she is here speaks for itself, Aidan has his horses in very good nick and, while she has plenty of speed, I’d have thought she will get the extra furlong here OK.

  “But there are a few promising horses in this, and this certainly isn’t a straight match between us and the Godolphin horse, for all Dance Sequence is the hot favourite in here, I see.”

  Elsewhere in the race is John and Thady Gosden’s Spiritual, fourth in the Rockfel on her last outing of 2023, with Richard Fahey’s Dubawi filly Pretty Crystal entered after collecting a Group Three placing last term.

• Fabre eager to test Narkez potential at Newmarket

  Andre Fabre expects to have a clearer idea of how far Narkez can go this season after he contests the bet365 Feilden Stakes at Newmarket.

  An impressive winner on his third and final juvenile start at Clairefontaine in the autumn, the Siyouni colt picked up where he left off with another dominant display on his Saint-Cloud comeback in March.

  Fabre saddled subsequent French Derby hero Intello to win the Feilden Stakes in 2013 and Narkez could earn himself a shot at the Chantilly Classic if he can pass Wednesday’s Listed test on the Rowley Mile.

  “The distance should suit him with the extra furlong (nine furlongs) as he is from a family of middle-distance horses, and obviously he’s in good shape,” said the trainer.

  “I want to see how he does it because he won easily last time, beating not much, so this will be a good experience for him.

  “If he does well, he’s more of a mile-and-a-quarter horse, so the Prix du Jockey Club would be a long-term target for him, but I’ll be wiser after the race.”

  Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore team up with Curragh maiden winner Gasper De Lemos, who makes his first appearance since filling the runner-up spot behind Charlie Appleby’s potential Derby candidate Arabian Crown in Newmarket’s Zetland Stakes in October.

  “We had four in here at the five-day stage and we rely on Gasper De Lemos,” Moore told Betfair.

  “After a promising debut, this Justify colt won his maiden in very good style at the Curragh before finishing second to what looked a smart horse in Arabian Crown in the Zetland here.

  “We are happy with him coming into this race but he will be suited by further down the line and I am always wary of an Andre Fabre horse, and his Narkez won very well on his return. And there are clearly others with claims, too.”

  Appleby is represented by El Cordobes, who switches to the turf for the first time after comfortably opening his account on his second all-weather start at Kempton in January.

  Speaking on the Godolphin website, Appleby said: “I’ve been happy with El Cordobes going into this. Like a lot of runners at this time of year, we will be hoping to establish what kind of level we are looking at for the season ahead, but he has done well physically since winning in January.”

  James Fanshawe’s Autumn Stakes third Ambiente Friendly and Richard Fahey’s Native American, last seen finishing sixth behind the Richard Hannon-trained Rosallion in the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp, are also in the mix for what promises to be an informative contest.

• McConnell star Seddon set for return at Punchestown Festival

  John McConnell’s popular and versatile performer Seddon is set to return to action at the Punchestown Festival.

  The 11-year-old provided connections with an unforgettable day at the races when landing the Magners Plate Handicap Chase at the Cheltenham Festival last year.

  He then reverted to hurdles for the Fitzwilliam Sports Handicap Hurdle at Punchestown’s flagship meeting last term, capping a successful season with another valuable triumph.

  A run on the Flat preceded his jumping campaign this season, which then began when he was beaten only a neck in the Deacy Gilligan Hurdle at Galway in September.

  Seddon then looked to emulate Shark Hanlon’s Hewick when he set sail for Far Hills in New Jersey to contest the American Grand National, a race in which he finished third for owners the Galaxy Horse Racing Syndicate.

  The gelding met with a setback after the run and has not been seen since as a result, but now he has returned to action and is being aimed at the Punchestown Festival to kick off a campaign that will run throughout the warmer months.

  “He’s Punchestown-bound and hopefully he goes there in good shape, that’s the plan with him,” said McConnell.

  “He had a setback in America and we had to do a little procedure on him and he’s coming back from that now.

  “He’s in good shape and we’re hopeful that we can get a good run with him now, he’ll probably stay on into the summer.

  “We haven’t had much of a campaign with him so we’re hoping we can get him back to form and kick on with him.”