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Timeform Daily View | Thursday preview and tips
Andrew Asquith of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Thursday.
Three points of interest
Thriving Skyjack Hijack can complete four-timer
Skyjack Hijack was a cheap purchase, but he has really thrived this year, notably so since entering handicaps and moving up to three miles and beyond, and he must be hard to beat in the three-mile handicap hurdle at Newcastle (13:45).
He has also been well suited by a switch to front-running tactics, opening his account at Cartmel in August, before following up at Perth in September, and completing a hat-trick at Aintree last weekend.
The combined winning distance of his last two wins is 28 lengths and he recorded another big career best on Sunday, only around five lengths to the good jumping two out, but having 16 lengths in hand of his nearest rival at the line, proving himself a stout stayer.
That was a conditional jockeys’ handicap, so Skyjack Hijack escapes a penalty and a rise in the weights, so he is incredibly hard to ignore racing from the same mark.
Note McCain runner in bumper at Newcastle
The ones with experience in the closing bumper at Newcastle (16:15) on Thursday don’t set an exacting standard, so it looks ripe for a newcomer to come out on top, and the Donald McCain-trained City of Diamonds makes plenty of appeal.
McCain and Brian Hughes can boast a 26% strike rate in bumpers at Newcastle over the last five seasons, which has produced a £1 level-stakes profit of £15.13, and the pair struck with a well-backed Rules debutant at Sedgefield the other weekend.
City of Diamonds only cost £4,000 as a three-year-old, but he was beaten only two and a half lengths on his sole start in Irish points in March earlier this year, and is a nice type of paper, from the family of useful hurdler King of The Picts.
It will be interesting to see how he fares in the market for a yard that are going along nicely, notably winning the Old Roan Chase at Aintree last weekend.
Imitate bred to be much better than her mark
Imitate is from a good Juddmonte family, related to the likes of Bonne Idee and Nostrum and, though she hasn’t managed to get her head in front as yet, she looks to have been found a good opportunity in the mile and a quarter handicap (20:30) at Chelmsford.
She shaped well on her qualifying run at Yarmouth in July, but shaped as though something was amiss when strong in the market for her handicap debut at Goodwood in August, labouring soon after halfway.
Imitate showed much improved form after nine weeks off over an extended mile at Wolverhampton last week, though, not best positioned the way the race went but staying on well to the line after conceding first run.
On that evidence, she will be well suited by this step up to a mile and a quarter, while she is also totally unexposed on an artificial surface. She remains a horse to be positive about at this level.
Tip of the Day
Harry’s Hope – 15:35 Stratford
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top Rated
Harry’s Hope showed a bit over hurdles last season, but she was a winner in Irish points prior to that, and she has shown much improved form since switched to fences this season.
She proved a different proposition when making a winning start in this sphere at Southwell earlier this month, jumping soundly and impressing how she went through her race.
Harry’s Hope progressed again to follow up under a 7lb penalty at Exeter three weeks ago, coming in for another confident ride while again producing some accurate leaps and just pushed out for a comfortable success. She is a horse to keep on the right side and a further 6lb rise in the weights shouldn’t be enough to prevent her completing a hat-trick.
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