The William Hill Bill Turner Memorial EBF Brocklesby Stakes is the standard opener for the British turf Flat season. Kitty Trice analyzes the pedigrees of the 4 likeliest competitors for the two-year-old contest.

4. Dance A Jig

A homebred for Jeff Smith's Littleton Stud, Dance A Jig comes from the first crop of Darley's Jubilee Stakes hero Naval Crown. The Ralph Beckett-trained juvenile is out of Strictly Dancing, a winner over six furlongs as a three-year-old and a Danehill Dancer daughter of Nunthorpe heroine Lochangel, in turn a half-sister to promote sprinter Lochsong.

Strictly Dancing has produced a number of winners including Dancing Star, a winner of her second start at two and a Group 3 scorer as an older entertainer, plus Foxtrot Lady, herself a Pattern scorer at 5. Those two fillies coincidentally landed the exact same race, the Sceptre Fillies' Stakes, for Andrew Balding.

3. Step To Glory

Dylan Cunha won this contest in 2024 with Zminiature and he saddles one of the bigger-priced runners in Step To Glory this time around.

Bred by Tally-Ho-Stud, the Cotai Glory colt has lots of speed in his pedigree, being out of a Kodiac half-sister to five-furlong Group 3 winner Hurricane Ivor. The household also consists of fellow Group-winning sprinter Mirza, along with Millyant, whose triumphes included the Prix du Gros-Chene and Molecomb Stakes.

2. Blixen Force

Amo Racing have actually won this contest in two of the last four years, consisting of with Persian Force in 2022. The subsequent July Stakes winner now stands at Tally-Ho and is represented by his first two-year-old runners this year, including Blixen Force and fellow Amo-owned Ocean Club.

Blixen Force is the first foal out of Showcasing mare Baroness Blixen, a sister to Show Me Show Me, who was 3rd in the Molecomb Stakes and won the Brocklesby in 2019. Baroness Blixen's own dam, Springing Baroness, is a half-sister to Toocoolforschool, a Group 2 winner as a juvenile when landing the Mill Reef Stakes.

1. Arrbob

The Richard and Peter Fahey-trained colt is by a tested source of skilled juveniles in Ardad, the sire of Middle Park Stakes and Prix Morny victor Perfect Power among others. He also has plenty of speed on his dam's side, running out an Equiano sibling to Hackwood Stakes winner and Haydock Sprint Cup runner-up Strath Burn.

Richard Fahey has actually won this race four times, most recently in 2019 with Show Me Show Me and Requinto Dawn in 2017, and this colt looks overpriced in a contest in which there is no racecourse kind to go on.

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