Juvenile Watch: Winners in waiting, a trainer to follow and more

By his own exceptional standards, Charlie Appleby has endured a quieter than usual spell over the past few weeks, so the fact that Ancient Wisdom was so well backed ahead of what looked, on paper, to be a competitive seven-furlong novice contest at Haydock was a strong indication that he was highly thought of.

That confidence was not misplaced as he recorded a flawless winning debut. He broke nicely and immediately settled into a beautiful rhythm, just in behind the leaders, plus travelled with consummate ease throughout the contest before requiring minimum encouragement from his jockey, James Doyle.

The son of Dubawi effortlessly cruised to the lead before stretching clear of his rivals and while Doyle was visibly impressed with the performance, he did draw attention to the large, galloping action this youngster demonstrated.

That would be the one minor negative to draw from Ancient Wisdom's debut, and if he were to race at an undulating track on summer ground, I would have a mild concern. It certainly wouldn't be a surprise if he was kept away from those tracks during the height of the summer.

His pedigree is full of stamina. His dam, Golden Valentine, who is a daughter of the great Dalakhani, showed her best over 12 furlongs, with a win in the Group Three Prix Minerve her career highlight, and the extended family contains countless middle-distance Group performers.

The €2,000,000 he cost as a yearling is an investment that can only yield a return if he forges a career on the track that leads to a second career at stud. He has a long way to go to achieve that, but I wouldn’t bet against it.

Lincoln Royal (Cable Bay) – Ivan Furtado.

As a graduate of the breeze-up sales, it was surprising to see her show so much greenness on debut at Hamilton. Having been slowly into stride, she appeared to not handle the early downhill stretch, and was continually looking to hang to her right, a trait that was temporarily exacerbated when she was asked for more by jockey, Dale Swift.

She belatedly found her stride and finished her race off in good style, albeit up the middle of the track. With this experience behind her, she is capable of winning a similarly moderate maiden.

Invincible Royale (Inns Of Court) – David Loughnane.

Was slowly away on his debut at Yarmouth, with jockey Kevin Stott noticeably lower in the saddle than his rivals in the early stages. Two furlongs from home, he had worked into a position from where it briefly looked like he may challenge before his effort petered out as he faded into an eased-down fifth.

He’s certain to shape better on his next start and would probably benefit for a step up to six furlongs, especially as his dam, Ponty Royale, showed all of her best form over six and seven furlongs.

Crown Estate (Dubawi) – John & Thady Gosden.

Shaped well on his debut when finishing fourth behind the aforementioned Ancient Wisdom. He was exceptionally slow into stride but then travelled in a style that caught the eye.

When asked to quicken by Rab Havlin, the response was not immediate, but when the penny finally dropped, he showed a smart turn of foot. I’d expect him to be significantly sharper on his next outing, and he is surely capable of collecting a novice contest.

With a strike-rate of 13 per cent over the past fortnight, it might seem strange to suggest that Richard Fahey is in fine form. However, this column only concerns itself with two-year olds, and further inspection reveals that his last six winners have all been in this division, resulting in an impressive strike-rate of 46 per cent.

At the five-day declaration stage Fahey has three entered in the 4.15pm at York on Saturday, a maiden over six furlongs. Whoever he runs there will merit respect, but I would be particularly interested if he were to run Angel’s Call.

He has a speedy pedigree being by leading first-season sire Soldier's Call out of Nicki’s Angel, a pacey daughter of Dark Angel who won on her debut as a two-year old over five furlongs.

This strike-rate can’t continue forever, but his two-year old runners merit further respect for the time being.

The glorious British summer weather delivered an untimely storm complete with thunder and lightening, and this unfortunately meant a flag start qas required for the 6f Fillies' Novice Stakes at Windsor on Monday.

The favourite, Painite, who I expected to step forward for her debut in the usual manner of a Richard Hannon-trained two-year old this season, was hampered at the start and forfeited a number of lengths.

She did well to finish as close as she did to the winner, especially as she appeared to not handle the ground which had become saturated on top.

She remains in my Racing TV Tracker and can make amends for this unfortunate defeat next time out.