Fourth Cambridgeshire win well within Gosden’s reach

Of all the handlers currently training, there are few that know how to claim the Cambridgeshire Handicap better than John Gosden. And in Breden he has a big price winner in waiting.

With 103 entries still remaining in the contest it is not easy picking out the winner, and Gosden’s three-year-old would need a good number to come out in order to get a run, but at 25/1 he cannot be ignored, with stakes returned if he is declared to run but balloted out.

The market for the race is headed by Top Notch Tonto at 10/1, after an impressive win in the Group 3 Superior Mile at Haydock. But if you go back two runs, Brian Ellison’s runner crossed paths with Breden.

That time Gosden’s charge triumphed by a short-head, receiving nine pounds from his rival. Now with the weights out for Newmarket’s prestigious handicap, the selection will receive 12lbs from the current joint-favourite. At more than twice the price, it is an easy decision.

An unexposed type, there should be more to come from the Lady Rothschild-owned colt, who could step up again if making the cut for the race. He has form on soft ground as well as on good to firm, so conditions shouldn’t be a problem.

For trend followers, Breden might not tick too many boxes, having failed to win three times or indeed over 1m2f, as 10 of the last 11 winners have. But he does have age on his side, with the last 11 winners being six or younger.

While he has stamina to prove, having only previously raced as far as a mile, breeding suggests an extra furlong should suit. His sire Shamardal won over 1m3f and is responsible for a number of good middle distance winners, including Mukhadram and Sharestan.

John Gosden has claimed this race three times, in 1994 with Halling and more recently picked off a double in 2007 and 2008 with Pipedreamer and Tazeez. He has gone through a lean spell in recent years, but is well placed to become only the third trainer to win the race four times with Breden.

All odds and markets correct as of date of publishing