The biggest feature of the three day meeting this year was the massive rail bias in the sprint races. Anything racing 2 horse widths or more off the stands rail in the straight had little chance on the fastest ground seen here for many years. Tracey Collins described it perfectly when asked about the chances of her horse Arctic who was drawn wide. " He wouldn't want very fast ground ideally for his first run so I'm happy not to be drawn on the rail as the ground is very fast, but the rail strip is like the road." He was predictably well beaten.
Given the above the performances of the 3rd, 4th and 5th home in what used to be the Scurry Handicap on the Sunday can be upgraded. Hawkeyethenoo continues to look a very well handicapped horse and will be of major interest in his next target at Ayr on his mission to pick up a penalty to ensure he gets into the Steward's Cup. Novellen Lad and Lough Mist are also worth following.
Another who ran better than his finishing position was Kevin Prendergast's Longhunter who was well punted before always being trapped out wide. I lost money on Moonlit Garden on the Friday but this one too may have suffered from her bad draw and being used up early to get near the favoured rail.
One of the most impressive performances was that of Jeremy Noseda's Formosina, who got Ryan Moore out of jail after he got trapped behind horses 2 out before finding a gap and showing a bright turn of foot to cut down Samuel Morse who had the rail. He paid a nice compliment to Strong Suit in the process who beat him well on his debut.
The form of Royal Ascot's 3 year old handicaps looks predictably strong and Mark Johnston won with two Berkshire also rans in Sea Lord and Bay Willow on the Sunday. It may pay to keep an eye on two horses who finished ahead of Sea Lord on the far side in Ransom Note's Brittania in One Good Emperor and Audacity Of Hope.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment