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Timeform Daily View | Wednesday preview and tips
John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on the racing front on Wednesday.
Three points of interest
Mullins and Elliott clash in fascinating mares’ chase at Bangor
Soft ground may be scarce elsewhere at the moment but not at Bangor which, with the help of some good prize money, stages a really competitive mid-week card. The field for the listed Yorton Mares’ Novices’ Chase (12:55) might be the smallest on the card but the six-runner contest is a tricky one to solve and features some very good mares.
Jamie Snowden’s stable is going great guns and he introduces Cheltenham Festival winner You Wear It Well to fences here. Winner of the Dawn Run at the Festival in 2023, You Wear It Well won first time out at Wetherby last season but ran poorly back at Cheltenham in the Mares’ Hurdle when last seen. West Balboa’s rating over hurdles for Dan Skelton was even better than You Wear It Well’s but she was beaten at very short odds on her chasing debut at Worcester last month having almost unseated at the last. However, she can improve on that but, like You Wear It Well, might have to settle for place money behind one of the Irish raiders.
Willie Mullins sends over Space Tourist, another of these who was useful hurdles, and who got off the mark over fences at Tramore in the summer. But on her latest start at Clonmel her tendency to jump left was a factor in her defeat to Shecouldbeanything whom she faces again here on similar terms. Shecouldbeanything has improved over hurdles for Gordon Elliott since finishing only sixth behind Your Wear It Well at last year’s Festival and at Clonmel she was completing a hat-trick over fences this autumn having won a Grade 3 novice at Tipperary on her previous start. Open to further improvement, she heads the Timeform ratings among those with chasing experience.
Useful stayer Evaluation makes hurdling debut
Evaluation has won more than £100,000 in his career to date for several trainers on the Flat and looks to have been found an ideal opportunity to make a winning start over hurdles in the novice at Ayr (13:15).
A useful stayer, Evaluation began his career with Sir Michael Stoute racing in the royal colours also carried by his dam, the Gold Cup winner Estimate. As a four-year-old, he then enjoyed a fine season with Keith Dalgleish, running up a four-timer and failing by just a nose to land a £100,000 bonus in the Sky Bet Sunday Series. After a year’s absence, Evaluation had a few starts for Charlie Johnston before joining his current trainer Lucinda Russell early this year.
Having been eased in the weights, Evaluation got off the mark for his new stable at Wolverhampton in April and followed that with a fine second to Onesmoothoperator in the Northumberland Plate at odds of 40/1. On his latest start, Evaluation shaped as though still in form when finishing in mid-division in the Cesarewitch. Following wind surgery since then, Evaluation will be hard to beat here if proving anywhere near as good over hurdles.
Familiar Theme for Haggas in Lingfield listed race?
Lingfield stage a couple of listed races for fillies on their all-weather card including the River Eden Fillies’ Stakes over 1m5f (14:07). William Haggas won this contest last year with Safety Catch who was his fourth winner of the race since 2017 following earlier successes for the stable’s Daphne, Dramatic Queen and Sea La Rosa.
Like Daphne, Haggas’ representative this year, Sea Theme, is a four-year-old and she has to give weight away to all her eleven rivals. But this represents a big drop in class for the daughter of Sea The Stars who has been competing in Group 1 company of late. The Yorkshire Oaks, Prix de Royallieu and Fillies’ & Mares’ Stakes have all proved a bit too hot for Sea Theme but this looks much more her grade. She won the Galtres Stakes at York last summer and gained her latest win in listed company again when successful at Clairefontaine in July. Sea Theme was a clear-cut winner on that occasion from Jessica Harrington’s Scarlett O’Hara who is one of her rivals again here.
A similar result could well be on the cards again here, with the other Irish raider, Ger Lyons’ three-year-old Madam Celeste, who was beaten a neck by a stablemate in a similar event on the all-weather at Dundalk last time, another with place chances in first-time blinkers.
Tip of the Day
Jagwar – 12:25 Bangor
Flags: Horse In Focus, Top Rated
Plenty are in with chances in a big field for the handicap chase which opens Bangor’s card but it’s hard to side against Jagwar following his stylish chasing debut at Wetherby last month for Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero. A winner over hurdles at Carlisle last season, Jagwar is only a five-year-old but he’s a tall, lengthy sort who’d looked the type to take to fences and was strongly supported on his chasing debut at Wetherby. He did well, too, given he was dropped out in rear for a long way but was produced to lead near the finish to win readily by half a length from long-time leader Half Shot. Sure to have learnt from that first experience over fences, Jagwar can overcome a 5lb rise in the weights and follow up here, heading the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings by 1lb.
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