TIME FOR CHAMPION TO EMERGE

sportinglife.com: How significant do the Dewhurst and Middle Park promise to be on Saturday?

Matthew Tester: "We've never had a champion two-year-old lower than 120 and at the moment we don't have a colt in Europe above 119. That would be Dabirsim but for his win in the Morny and not his victory in the Jean Luc-Lagardere at the weekend. He was impressive in coming from last to first there but didn't pull away from the field and you tend to get higher ratings when you do that.

"The role of champion juvenile is very much up for grabs and in nine of the last ten years the performance that has crowned a champion two-year-old has been put up by the time the Dewhurst week is over. So by the end of this weekend I'm very hopeful we'll have seen the performance that will give us the top rated two-year-old.

"The only exception in the last ten years has been St Nicholas Abbey winning the Racing Post Trophy and a lot of the top performances have come from these two races or the Phoenix Stakes in Ireland."

sportinglife.com: How does this year's renewal of the Dewhurst Stakes hold-up?

MT: "Power is top-rated going into the race on 117 and he clearly is a horse of very high quality but I'm finding it very difficult to be certain of what he achieved in the National Stakes in which he beat Dragon Pulse and David Livingston. That's partly because the Irish handicapper and I can't quite agree on what David Livingston achieved when winning the Beresford in the mud. 117 is the Irish handicapper's figure, for which I have great respect, but I'm not sure what the Dragon Pulse form is quite worth myself.

"There are others in there, particularly Bronterre and Ektihaam, who give the impression they can play at the top table but haven't had the oppportunity yet to prove it.

"Power has been running in Group Ones but Ekithaam comes here from a maiden and conditions race and Bronterre a maiden and a Listed contest at Goodwood.

"There's a line in that race and if you think Justineo ran to the same mark as he did when fourth in the Gimcrack and you think Nayarra ran to the same level as she did in the Oh So Sharp Stakes next time then you can mathematically get Bronterre up to 115 already.

"That's speculative though as in my view Justineo didn't quite see out the seven furlongs at Goodwood and Nayarra is a difficult horse to be certain of, she isn't the most consistent of performers even though she has two 100-rated performances to her name.

"That said there's no doubt in my mind that Bronterre is a very serious candidate for this race.

"Ekthihaam is very much a work in progress and hasn't taken on anything with a high rating so it's difficult for him to prove how good he is. I got the impression when I saw him at Doncaster he's well worth a crack at this race but it's a big step up.

"On what he's achieved so far he's only worth a rating of 95 and I'm sure it's going to take a rating of 120 or close to it to win this race. He won the race at Doncaster by four lengths which is where he gets 95. 120 means another 15 pounds and would imply he could have won that race by another seven lengths so it's a big ask - but possible. I'm looking forward to seeing how he copes."

sportinglife: Will you rate the Dewhurst through the likes of Red Duke and Trumpet Major?

MT: "Red Duke is on 110 at the moment and ran to that last time at Doncaster and almost to an identical figure when not getting the clearest of runs but winning at Newmarket. He was then really locked away at Goodwood so I have three performances for him, all around the 110 level, so if all the indicators are that he's run a good solid race at Newmarket, he'd be a good starting point to rate the Dewhurst through.

"Trumpet Major is still progressing, his win at Doncaster was his best performance to date and it's quite possible he can keep going forward and I expect Red Duke to run a really good, solid race but if we're looking for a 120 performance here, you'd be a little surprised to see it come from Red Duke or Trumpet Major as they have more experience than Bronterre or Ektihaam.

"If my champion is to come from the Dewhurst it's unlikely to be Red Duke or Trumpet Major but I'm looking for them to run solid races to give me a viable level into rating the race."

sportinglife: Moving onto the Middle Park, how difficult is it to assess the French challenger?

MT: "I have 111 as my figure for Family One and was very impressed when he beat Boomerang Bob in the Prix Du Bois and he was able to win the Papin very easily. He was then beaten three lengths by Dabirsim in the Prix Morny and that's probably a fair reflection of his ability. He ran to 111 again there.

"He could be a realistic guide to this Middle Park but as Dabirsim beat him comfortably by three lengths, whatever beats him here will have to be equally as impressive to be considered a potential champion two-year-old.

"Caspar Netscher is top-rated coming into the race off 114 with Bapak Chinta, back from a lay-off, on 109. That mark is only after two races and that's pretty impressive but the lay-off does worry me.

"He's missed out on gaining some of the experience Capar Netscher has picked up and we won't know whether he has developed along the lines the weight-for-age scale says he should until Saturday.

"109 at Ascot is only worth 109 now if a horse has found the physical improvement the weight-for-age scale says he should. It's a bit like Ektihaam in the Dewhurst, Bapak Chinta doesn't have the rating yet but you couldn't discard him despite the lay-off."

sportinglife: Last year Dream Ahead produced a spectacular performance to win the Middle Park - any chance of a horse winning with such authority again?

MT: "I'm not really looking for the champion to come from the Middle Park as I don't look at any of these horses and think they're about to run a 120+ and it may only take the 114 Capar Netscher has already recorded to win this.

"Dream Ahead's 126 was exceptional but if you look back, Dark Angel only had to run to 114 to win the race, Three Valleys only to 115 and they were quite narrow winners. Dream Ahead's figure was exceptional because he managed to pull nine lengths clear of Strong Suit.

"I'd be astonished if there was a Dream Ahead in this field but the year before Awzaan ran to 117 and there are plenty of winners of this race around the 114-117 level and this feels more like this race to me. If there's going to be a 120 performance I'm pretty certain it will come from the Dewhurst."

sportinglife: The one star name missing on Saturday is Harbour Watch. Any chance he could still be champion two-year-old?

MT: "I think that's gone and there are big parallels with Canford Cliffs who only had three races at two. He looked through the season as though he could be my champion two-year-old but didn't get the chance to turn up for the championship races at the end of the year. You get a high rating really by beating in style horses who already have proven form and it's really these Group One events in the autumn when you get that.

"I'm publishing 115 for Harbour Watch at the moment and did genuinely feel he was the most likely candidate to be my champion. I was talking to Richard Hughes earlier in the week and he felt Harbour Watch was a serious candidate for champion two-year-old but also that Bronterre was in the same bracket and therefore that's another reason to think he'll run a big race on Saturday."

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