Jarvis outlines ground concerns

Michael Jarvis is carefully monitoring the ground at Newmarket ahead of Iffraaj’s planned run in the Listed Countrywide Steel & Tubes Hopeful Stakes.

The four-year-old, winner of the Wokingham Stakes, has been declared under the proviso that he will only run if the going is suitable at the Suffolk track.

As the ground is expected to be riding good to soft on Saturday, Jarvis is keeping his fingers crossed for no further rainfall.

He explained: “We’ve had a nice drying day today and if it continues to dry, and we felt the ground was suitable for him, he’d probably take his chance.

“But if we had another downpour and it handled very soft we probably would miss it.”

Iffraaj, who finished well in arrears in the July Cup after winning three handicaps prior to the Group One race, is still being lined up for the William Hill Sprint Cup.

However, without a preparatory race under his belt, the Zafonic colt may bypass the six-furlong contest at Haydock.

Jarvis added: “He’s seems fine in himself and if he missed the Sprint Cup he’d probably go to the Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster.”

Gay Kelleway hopes to run Vortex, but has also expressed her concern over the ground, while David Nicholls is double-handed with Lafi and Bahamian Pirate.

David Chapman’s Quito, a gallant runner-up in the City of York Stakes, and James Fanshawe’s Traytonic also take their chance.

The Barry Hills-trained Moss Vale and Chris Wall’s Ashdown Express complete the field.