I find this time of year is as much about revision as it is form study.
The back-end 2-y-o formbook is something I admittedly have to dust the cobwebs off in my own mind; I guess once the winter comes, the space in my brain that should hold onto the upcoming year’s Classic prospects becomes quickly occupied by potential Kim Muir plot jobs.
The sun coming back out brings with it the slight sense of dread that I might not be as well versed as I should be on the differences between Henri Matisse (Wootton Bassett, won the Juvenile Turf) and Camille Pissarro (also Wootton Bassett, won the Lagardere), both entered at Leopardstown at the weekend.
Getting stuck back into replays of good-quality Flat action has certainly helped to wet the whistle for Doncaster this weekend, though I hadn’t actually been intending to do quite as much prep on the Lincoln as I’ll end up doing; the regally-bred Harper’s Ferry had been my idea of the winner since he scored over C&D back in October and I was confident enough that he’d be making his mark felt in Group races over 1m this season that I placed some rare ante-post cash behind Ed Walker’s 4-y-o.
Unfortunately, his name didn’t appear amongst the confirmations on Monday, so it’s back to the drawing board for the first big handicap of the season and we’re -1 for the campaign before the first sighting of a Bill Turner juvenile. What a game this is.
WHAT’S HAPPENED
Now in its fifth year, the Go North Series has been a real success story for racing in this part of the world and there was plenty of decent action to dissect at Musselburgh, Kelso and Carlisle.
Unfortunately, only one of the horses flagged in last week’s column ended up taking up their engagement. ROCKOLA VOGUE wasn’t much of a betting price at Musselburgh on Friday afternoon and anyone who did get stuck in at 5/4 would have suffered through a couple of anxious moments before she eventually eroded the sizeable advantage of slick-jumping front-runner O’Faolains Glory late on.
For my money, the pick of the winners on the opening day was the Lucinda Russell-trained KINGSTON JAMES, who took the Sea Pigeon Final in slight excess of 17f. Yes, I know it feels like I name a new horse from the yard to keep on side every week, but this lad is one I’m particularly keen on in both the short and medium term.
He won a point before making a successful Rules debut in an Ayr bumper just over a year ago and again struck at the first attempt over hurdles at Hexham in the autumn. This was better form still and I’d be certain there’d be even more to come from him over timber, but like so many from the yard, he should prove a useful prospect for chasing next season.
Lucinda bagged another Final at Kelso the following day courtesy of STARLYTE, a strong gallop helping the mare pull off her trademark hold-up tactics, with Fergal O’Brien’s LALOOPA pulling off a successful Southern raid in the following mares event.
Rebecca Menzies’ unexposed RAFFLES WONDER landed the first of three Finals at Carlisle on Sunday before HELLO JUDGE notched a fourth course success for Ann Hamilton later in the afternoon. Surely the most popular winner of the day, though, would’ve been the locally-trained RED HAPPY, who has proved an outstanding purchase by the George Bewley yard.
He completed the third hat-trick of his career in the Red Rum Final over 3m2f, in the process taking his earnings for the yard to well over the £34,000 paid for him midway through last season. Red Happy may well have struck as a risky allocation of funds to an outsider; he ran, primarily in staying chases, a scarcely believable 30 times in 14 months after joining David Pipe from France and perhaps unsurprisingly, didn’t always look completely in love with his job. Admittedly, he did sign off for his former connections with a victory but his profile since joining Bewley has been much more positive, the weekend’s success maintaining a 50% strike rate for the Cumbrian handler.
Elsewhere in the North, THE FOUR SIXES made his first completed start of the campaign a winning one in Bangor’s feature handicap hurdle on Saturday and is one I’d quite like to see given another crack at novice chasing next year, whilst the Patrick Mullins UK Tour played a successful date in Hexham courtesy of ROAD TO HOME.
WHAT’S HAPPENING
With Harper’s Ferry’s absence leaving me on the back foot, I’ll be heading to Town Moor hoping that C&D same formline can be successfully represented by MIDNIGHT GUN.
You could argue that he’s been the recipient of some harsh handicapping, having been raised 5 lb for a length second in that contest back in October, but like the winner, is out of a Classic-winning mare and if my suspicion is that the finish there was fought out by two Pattern-level animals is right, landing a blow from a revised mark of 101 should still be within his capabilities.
The supporting card at Donny is as strong as you’d expect, fewer Listed races able to boast a roll of honour as strong of that the Doncaster Mile. Last year’s winner Charyn outdid the exploits of fellow high-class recent winners Chindit and Belardo in a triple Group 1-winning campaign. It would perhaps be a stretch to anticipate the same from the market leaders this time around, though LIBERTY LANE, BOTANICAL and DANCING GEMINI will all be hoping to enjoy productive seasons in Group company this season. The first-named of those is the shortest-priced and the one I’d be keenest on; his fine effort behind the potentially top-notch Lead Artist in the Darley Stakes the pick of the form to my eyes.
The preceding Cammidge Trophy also produced a subsequent top-level winner last season in the shape of Montassib. If there is one in the field this time around, I’d wager it’d be JAMES’S DELIGHT, who was hugely progressive in winning two top-level handicaps and a Listed contest last season before catching the eye from off the pace on Champions Day. He receives 3 lb from main market rival MARSHMAN and won’t be inconvenienced by a little bit of dig in the ground, so I’m hopeful he’ll tee off another productive season with a win at the weekend.
I wouldn’t have a fancy for readers in the Brocklesby, but I can disclose that Timeform’s predicted ratings – based on a horse’s pedigree and the yard’s record with newcomers – have Amo Racing’s representative and likely favourite Norman’s Cay, trained by Richard Hannon, top of the pile, 1 lb clear of Mighty Vega. There’s no room for tradition in the scores either; Bill Turner’s The Boreham Bullet is bottom of the bunch with a predicted rating of 60 - I’ll be sure to have a word.
Doncaster race again on Sunday, Newcastle plays host to a Monday card featuring a surprisingly decent Class 3 handicap hurdle before the Flat action returns to Musselburgh on Wednesday. And then there’s the small matter of Aintree...
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