Hi all,
The service hasn’t been getting the rub of the green at present. Two big priced second placed efforts over the last few days and if one of those goes in, we’re sitting on a very big profit over. Mind you, can’t complain too much as we did have two nice priced winners at Dundalk yesterday.
There’s plenty of racing across Britain & Ireland on Friday. Haydock stages the second of its three-day Betfair Sprint Cup meeting with the feature race being The Tin Man Handicap (2.20).
Ascot offers some competitive handicaps on its seven-race card while there is also afternoon racing from Newcastle. The Friday action in Britain is completed by Pontefract and Kempton this evening and there are fixtures at Down Royal and Kilbeggan.
Sadly, the field sizes at Haydock & Ascot haven’t held up due to the quickening ground. That won’t worry the connections of fast ground loving horses who don’t always get their ground on this weekend of the year.
The Haydock feature race is one of the races where there is a disappointing sized field – just seven for the Class 2 handicap. That said it’s a competitive race and you can make a good case for six of the seven runners.
A quite day for me on the selections front with just a handful of fancies at Haydock, Ascot and Kilbeggan.
Haydock
2:20 – The Tin Man Handicap (Class 2) – 6f
Mitrosonfire bids for the hat trick after wins at the Shergar Cup and the grey horse handicap at Newmarket 20-days ago. He’s been raised 3lb for that success but he continues to progress with racing. His excellent run will come to an end sooner rather than later but it may not be today.
Manigordo doesn’t win very often but he’s put in plenty of good efforts this season. He’s been knocking on the door of late. Did best of those racing on the far side when a 3 ½ length 5th of 20 in the Great St Wilfrid Handicap. He shaped well again last time when a 3 ¼ length 3rd of 10 at Lingfield 8-days ago. Goes well on quick ground and won’t have a better chance of win this season.
Verdict: Mitrosonfire is the form horse. Whilst the Tim Easterby trained Manigordo has been knocking on the door of late.
1pt win – Manigordo – 11/2 @ Coral & Ladbrokes
Ascot
4:10 – Bateaux London Handicap (Class 4) – 6f
Just the eight go to post for this Class 4 sprint handicap. The market is headed by Prontissimo. The 3-year-old won a Kempton maidenin Apriland posted a personal best back at that track when a 1 ¼ length 2nd of 9 last month. The front two were nicely clear of the rest so a 4lb rise in the weights for that effort looks warranted. Went close on his handicap debut at Doncaster (soft) two starts back. Both those runs came over 7f but he shouldn’t be inconvenienced by the drop back to 6f. Looks on a good handicap mark if handling today’s much quicker ground.
Louie De Palma might have reached the veteran stage but the 9-year-old showed he was still capable of winning when successful at Windsor (good to firm) 6-days ago. He’s got a 9lb penalty to carry for that success but the former C&D winner has won off much higher marks in his career.
Dancinginthewoods a winner at Newmarket two starts back and showed he remains in good form when a 1 ¼ length 3rd of 7 back at that venue last month. Goes well on quick ground but probably needs the first-time hood to eke out the improvement required to win off his career high mark.
Equiano Springs is another who goes well on quick ground. The 7-year-old hasn’t really fired on his six starts this season although his reappearance effort at Hamilton was encouraging enough. He’s dropped 8lb since the start of the season and is now 4lb below last season’s winning mark. Ran well over C&D last season when getting within 1 ¾ lengths of Chil Chil. Ryan Moore is an eyecatching jockey booking and he could be hard to catch if getting out in front.
Verdict: Prontissimo is a progressive 3-year-old who looks on a winnable mark although this is likely to be some of the quickest ground he’s encountered in his short career. Louie De Palma comes into the race after winning at Windsor last Saturday and is a previous C&D winner. However, the biggest threat to Prontissimo could come from Equiano Springs who should be able to dictate the pace from the front.
1pt win – Equiano Springs – 7/1 @ Bet365 & Paddy Power
4:45 – War Horse Memorial Handicap (Class 4) – 7f
Papacito a winner over 7f on his racecourse debut at Salisbury in June returned from 9-week absence to win at Doncaster dropped to 6f. The return to 7f will suit the colt who has scope for plenty of improvement on his handicap debut. Both career wins have come on good to firm going so no problem with the ground for the 3-year-old who is likely to go off a strong favourite.
Another handicap debutant Rogue Bear could be the one to give him most to do. He made a winning racecourse debut over at Doncaster (good to firm) in April and wasn’t disgraced when a 2-length 3rd of 12 under penalty back there the following month. The ground looked plenty soft enough for the 3-year-old that day and he should appreciate both today’s quicker ground and the step up to 7f for his handicap debut. Not sure why we haven’t seen him for 111-days but he did win first time up so fitness might be an issue.
Verdict: Rogue Bear is interesting on his handicap debut but its hard to look beyond the claims of another handicap debutante the Roger Varian trained Papacito who looks to have a good chance maintaining his unbeaten record.
Kilbeggan
7:07 – Kilsaran Handicap Chase – 2m 3 ½ f
Funky Dady won a beginners’ chase over C&D last August and made it 2-5 over the larger obstacles when winning a handicap chase at Tipperary two starts back. He put in a career best on RPR’s when a 4 ½ length 4th of 19 in the Galway Blazers at the Festival last time and this represents a drop in class for the 6-year-old. Seemed effective enough on good ground at Galway but he might just prefer a bit more ease.
Mon Storm is an interesting contender who won here over hurdles two years ago and goes very well on a sound surface. He comes into the race in winning form having been successful over hurdles at Down Royal 7-days ago. This is just his second start over fences, won a Sligo beginners chase, seeing off the Willie Mullins trained Pont Aven in the process. The runner-up is now officially rated 139 so he looks on a decent mark here off 121. His sole success over the larger obstacles was over two years ago. So, although he lacks the chasing experience of his rivals, I can see him going well. His record when racing within 25-days of his last start is 5 wins from 11 runs +40.5 compared to 0 wins from 13 runs.
Verdict: We probably haven’t seen the best of Funky Dady over fences just yet. This is drop-in class after his run for the 6-year-old after his run at the Galway Festival. Mon Storm a four-time winner over hurdles is having only his second start over fences at the age of 10. The good ground is a big positive and despite his inexperience over the larger obstacles. I fancy he can run a big race today.
1pt win – Mon Storm – 11/1 @ Coral & Ladbrokes
Cheers
John