Andrew Asquith provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Jane Temple open to significant improvement
Jane Temple is from a good family, a half-sister to several winners, including the same connections’ useful stayer Peter The Great, and she looks interesting in the mile and a half novice at Southwell (12:15) on the back of her promising debut at Kempton.
She has clearly been a little bit backward, only making her debut in October of her three-year-old season, but she attracted some support, and shaped with an abundance of promise.
That race was run at a stop-start gallop, and she did well to finish as close as she did coming from so far back in the field, still having loads of ground to make up three furlongs out and finishing with a real flourish while displaying signs of greenness.
The winner of that race has won again since, so the form has a solid look, and Jane Temple has been awarded the ‘Timeform Large P’ denoting she’s open to significant improvement. The step up to a mile and a half will also very much suit.
Varian sends an interesting two-year-old to Newcastle
Roger Varian has sent three two-year-olds to Newcastle so far this year, and two of them have won, but Yaa Min will be the first juvenile debutant he’s had at the track since last year.
Interestingly, three of the last four two-year-old debutants Varian has ran at Newcastle have won, too, so that means that Yaa Min is of interest in the one-mile novice event (15:20).
Yaa Min also makes plenty of appeal on paper, a 370,000 guineas purchase who is a half-brother to several winners, notably smart German horse Wonderful Moon, who won over a mile as a juvenile.
Varian remains in top form and as his sole runner at Newcastle on Thursday, Yaa Min needs monitoring in the market on debut in a race where the ones with experience don’t set an exacting standard.
Note Skelton’s record in bumpers
Dan Skelton had 13 runners in bumpers in October, none of them finishing out of the first three, with five winning and five filling the runner-up spot, so it’s fair to say his horses in this sphere are flying.
He sends a strong team to Newbury on Thursday, but his runner in the closing bumper (16:02), Brookside La, looks particularly interesting.
Brookside La cost €100,000 as a three-year-old and, while his brother, Hands of Gold, developed only into a fairly useful hurdler, he does make appeal on pedigree and is clearly a nice type physically to bring six figures at the sales.
Skelton on the whole has his string in fantastic form and, though there are some other interesting newcomers in this field, the stats point you in the direction of Brookside La, representing a trainer with an excellent 36% strike rate in bumpers this season.
Timeform Tip of the Day
Lady of Spain – 15:10 Southwell
Flags: Horse In Focus, Hot Trainer, Top Rated
Lady of Spain wasn’t particularly fancied in the betting prior to her debut, but she made a winning start in taking fashion at Wolverhampton in December, making good headway three wide on the home turn and leading on the bridle entering the final furlong before quickening clear.
She didn’t beat much on that occasion, but it was hard not to be impressed by the manner of her victory, and she followed up with the minimum of fuss over the same course and distance 12 weeks later.
Lady of Spain didn’t win by as far, but she displayed signs of inexperience and picked up well in the closing stages to be cosily on top at the line. She seemingly is a little fragile, as she returns from another break now, but she remains with plenty of potential, especially now handicapping from what looks like a lenient opening mark.
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