Andrew Asquith of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Two points of interest
Crisfords two-year-olds dynamite at Beverley
Since moving to a joint-training license, Simon & Ed Crisford have had only nine runners at Beverley, though they can boast an excellent 33% strike rate at the track.
However, if you filter out just their two-year-old runners, that strike rate more than doubles to a remarkable 75% (three winners from four runners), so Nightbird, who goes in the juvenile fillies’ maiden (14:00) on Thursday, commands maximum respect.
She was a relatively expensive purchase, but didn’t show much on her debut at Goodwood in May, not seeming to get home over six furlongs, but she left that form well behind after 10 weeks off when beaten a neck at Nottingham earlier this month.
Nightbird saw her race out much better dropped to the minimum trip and, likely to be sharper for that outing now, with more progress to come, she looks a big player.
Allonsy chasing a four-timer
The Ralph Beckett-trained Allonsy is bred to excel over middle distances this season and she has done exactly that since being fitted with cheekpieces at the end of June.
She found the headgear aiding her concentration, finding plenty for pressure under more positive tactics to readily open her account, and she followed up with any amount in hand at Epsom next time.
Allonsy didn’t need to improve to complete a hat-trick at Newmarket back against older fillies last time, but she still landed the odds in ready fashion for the second start running and, likely to get an easy lead once again in this field, she’ll likely take plenty of catching in her bid for a four-timer.
Opal Storm – 15:45 Beverley
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top Rated
Opal Storm defied odds of 66/1 when opening her account in a five-furlong handicap at Carlisle last year for Chris Fairhurst and she has proved very consistent since moving yards this season. She was unlucky not to push the reopposing Refuge closer when runner-up over this course and distance three weeks ago, that one drifting into her path as she was mounting a serious challenge, and unable to recover after switching for a run. Opal Storm is better off at the weights with that rival now and, given she remains less exposed than most she’ll meet at this level, she remains a horse to be firmly interested in.
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