Newmarket trainer George Scott is very much a man to follow after raiding Longchamp with a big-race Saturday double and getting within a length or so of landing Europe’s greatest horserace.
Based in Lester Piggott’s former Eve Lodge Stables, Scott has been making steady, rather than spectacular, progress since James Garfield gave him his first British Group-race success in Newbury’s Mill Reef Stakes more than nine years ago. This year has been his best yet, and it could be capped by plundering more top prizes.
Caballo De Mar targets Ascot Long Distance Cup
Caballo De Mar defeated champion stayer Scandinavia to retain his Prix du Cadran crown, and he has another Group 1 target in his sights. He will head to the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day, where he is a 4-1 shot for the Ascot staying prize and is likely to meet Scandinavia’s stablemate Jan Brueghel. Any rain over the next 10 days wouldn’t bother Caballo De Mar one bit.
Arc de Triomphe runner-up Bay City Roller could also head to Ascot. He is a possible for the Champion Stakes, where he is 11-2, with the Breeders’ Cup in America also an option.
Other in-form trainers to note
Scott, who passed the £1 million mark for British prize-money for the first time in the summer, is a man well worth keeping tabs on.
Newmarket-based James Fanshawe has enjoyed a decent September and has started October in similar fashion. In fact, he has already trained more winners in 2026 than any other year since he started out more than 35 years ago. Barnaby Rudge – gelded after losing his unbeaten record at Musselburgh in August – is of particular interest, with a choice of options at Newmarket and York on Friday.
Mick Appleby has not been so prolific this season, having trained a hundred winners in four consecutive years from 2020. Although he is going to fall some way short of three figures this time, he has notched up three winners (22-1, 11-1, 3-1) and four places from a dozen races over the last week. He is definitely coming into form, and Ay Up Duck is of special interest at York on Friday.
