David Ord is back in the hot-seat with his best bets from around the tracks on Wednesday.
He wasn’t at his best here last time but there are reasons to think GRIGIO can fare better on Wednesday. Firstly he’s in a Class 6 for the first time since finishing third over course-and-distance in May from a five pounds higher mark and is also three lower than when winning at the track in February. An even pace is forecast which will suit him and Tom Marquand is an eyecatching jockey booking.
This is a trappy nursery with Lazieelunch chasing a four-timer and Gentle Warrior arriving off the back of an improved effort at Redcar but CHELSEA EMBANKMENT looks the bet. He represents the red-hot Ralph Beckett and Rossa Ryan team and showed he handles a soft surface when a good third to Corriamo at Sandown time. He looks set to get an uncontested lead in this and might take some pegging back.
She’s two from two at this course and LA RENOMEE is fancied to further enhance her fine Ludlow record. The six-year-old has the benefit of a pipe opener at Perth over hurdlers where she looked to in need of the outing and is only five pounds higher when good value for a length-and-a-half defeat of Flintara at Cheltenham in April. She looks sure to go close.
Testing ground is a bit of an unknown but FAIRY GLEN - a daughter of Farhh, out of a Dubawi mare - promises to be perfectly comfortable in the conditions based on breeding and Simon and Ed Crisford's filly is one to follow. She won a couple of all-weather novice events earlier in the year and has taken the step up to Listed level in her stride, finishing third at Newmarket and beaten a short-head at Longchamp early last month. She stayed the mile and three-quarter trip really well in France, just missing out to Aidan O'Brien's Lily Hart who made all the running, and any further improvement from this progressive stayer would make her very difficult to beat.
MAGICAL ESCAPE might represent a spot of value against likely favourite Florencethemachine here, the latter making her chasing debut for Paul Nicholls after a promising enough novice hurdle campaign. Magical Escape also showed real potential last term, taking a little while to warm to jumping before winning his final two starts at Chepstow and Ffos Las in the spring. He clearly just needed a proper test of stamina to bring out the best in him and, with little or no pace pressure in this line-up, Ciaran Gethings might be able to dictate the pace he likes out in front on Kim Bailey's newcomer to fences. He's certainly built for the job (Trabolgan features on the dam's side of his pedigree), is unexposed as a stayer and the stable had a handicap chase winner at Huntingdon on Tuesday so fitness might not be much of an issue first time up.
ROUSING ENCORE clearly isn't the horse he was for Richard Fahey, having finished a fair sixth in Bradsell's Coventry Stakes in 2022, but after losing his way last term and recently switching stables to join Ruth Carr, the son of Acclamation has shaped better on his last couple of outings. The half-length second to unexposed three-year-old Jonny Concrete last time out at Ayr represented a genuine step in the right direction and he has to be of interest running off the same mark (78) back over the same course and distance on Thursday.
There was something quite striking about the way LIOSA swept home to win at Kempton last month and, although it was hardly a shock given he was sent off 6/4 favourite there following a couple of runner-up efforts at Wolverhampton, it definitely looks like he's improving. The son of The Last Lion has now won two of his six all-weather outings and providing he takes to the track here at Southwell, he could be well up to defying a 7lb rise in the ratings.
LOCAL MUSIC lacks a recent run but has always gone well fresh in the past and looks worth chancing back over seven furlongs having just raced a fraction too keenly when second over a mile here when last seen in July. She'd bolted up over this trip at Lingfield the time before and although now fully 10lb higher than for that victory, she's not fully exposed and should get a nice set-up here as despite being drawn wide, there is loads of early speed elsewhere and the pace could collapse late on.
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