RyanWe

July 25th

Uttoxeter

6.30 Mares’ Novices´ Hurdle (CLASS 4) (4yo+) Winner £2,534 12 runners 2m Good

A mares’ novice hurdle kicked off the proceedings and it went the way of the Irish challenger Pretty Valira.

There didn’t appear to be much pace in the race, and they only seemed to race coming in to the home straight which resulted in a bunch finish. Pretty Valira - a daughter of King’s Theatre whose progeny typically prove to be better on quicker ground, and whilst she looked vulnerable coming over the final hurdle she battled on gamely to hold her rivals. However, I don’t believe she’s suddenly improved but she did put her experience to good use, and as a lowly 99 rated horse over hurdles, she doesn’t set much of a standard. The fact a 38 rated horse on the flat in Behest was 2nd to her today would add substance to this argument.

Fashionable Gal was sent off the favourite, which was no surprise because she made such an encouraging debut when winning at Huntingon, and the form of that race had worked out really well, with both the 2nd and 3rd (Bruston – 115) winning since. Moreover, she even came from the flat in fine form after winning a handicap off 75. Unfortunately, her jumping has become really sloppy, and whilst she definitely has the engine to leave today’s form behind, she really needs to brush up on her jumping and may have lost her confidence after falling last time out. Moreover, they keep running the horse in close proximity to her last run, and I’m not sure why they are in such a rush with her.

If the handicapper rated her purely on this one hurdle performance and gave her something like 100 she could easily hose up in a handicap as she’s definitely got the raw ability – she settles and travels so well - to be a lot better.

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8.00 Handicap Chase (CLASS 4) (4yo+ 0-105) Winner £2,975 10 runners 3m Good

Gaelic Flight and House of Bourbon ensured that this race was led at a good gallop, with the rest of the field strung out with a circuit to go.

Unfortunately for them it looked like it played in to the hands of the favourite Knight Woodsman who went at a much more even pace. He previously beat Gem Mill who went on to win next time out as described in the last review of Southwell, and the 10lb rise was not enough to stop this rejuvenated 7 year old. The handicapper might not of caught up with him just yet, as Gaelic Flight, the veteran chaser, came 2nd and he too looks ahead of the handicapper but unfortunately keeps bumping in to better handicapped horses. A step up in trip again might help, and he ran a sound race for a 13 year old considering his last race was only 8 days ago.

House Of Bourbon for me, was the eyecatcher of the race. He travelled and jumped great from the front, but I don’t think the speed dual with Gaelic Flight done him any favours in the end as although he looked to have the field beat turning in to the straight, he had nothing left to give. He might not have won a handicap over fences, but he has won a handicap hurdle off 11lb higher, and there is no reason to believe that he can’t win a race off his current mark. I definitely feel that leading from the front is detrimental to the horse’s success, and if he gets his own way in front, he will win. I imagine the handicapper might drop him a few lbs as he ended up being beat quite far, and as a horse that has a great record at Ffos Las, this is where I would send him.
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8.30 Handicap Hurdle (CLASS 4) (4yo+ 0-105) Winner £2,534 11 runners 3m Good

Folie A Deux and Choumaker made most of the running, although Choumaker was beat early on after some sloppy mistakes.

Jocheski travelled like the winner coming around the bend and kicked on with 3 hurdles to go. However, he didn’t seem to find as much as one would expect and he was joined at the last hurdle and could only manage 3rd. You couldn’t necessarily say he didn’t stay this distance, but I do believe it stretches his stamina, and 2 mile 6 would appear to be his ideal trip.

Moon Melody went on to win the race, and it wasn’t really much surprise after a fine 2nd to Midnight Fun ( who subsequently won against markedly higher rated horses in a novice hurdle on the 21st of June review of Uttoxeter). However, whether he can win off a higher mark I’m not so sure, but he should still prove to be competitive.

Diddley Dee was 15lb higher for a 4 length success, yet that still didn’t stop punters backing him into 7/2 favourite. However, he got going too late (not sure if that was the horse’s fault, but this is what happens with 7lb claimers!), and although I thought a 15lb hike in the weights looked harsh, I think the handicapped got it right. He appears to stay all day, and if they can find a race over further than 3 miles he could still win.
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9.00 Handicap Hurdle (CLASS 5) (4yo+ 0-95) Winner £1,689 13 runners 2m Good

Me Fein was apparently the well gambled horse of the day. Given the connections of Barney Curley, it doesn’t take much spark to light this fire, and it’s hard to truly know who is behind the gamble. Who’s to say that the bookmakers haven’t started it themselves? Anyway he never really looked like winning, and his attitude doesn’t impress me.

Bahr Nothing won the race on his 1st start for the Tim Vaughan yard after proving rather friendless in the market. He didn’t particularly look that well handicapped on his performance with Henry Daly, but I think he won with something up his sleeve. The Vaughan horses tend to improve on their 1st start in handicap company too, so considering how friendless he was in the market. I’m inclined to believe that he’s capable of a lot more and is one to watch out for although he’ll probably be prohibited odds in all honesty, but we’ll see.   

Torran Sound was well supported on this step down to 2 miles again, and ran a sound race in defeat. The blinkers really seemed to work for him and it was definitely an improvement on recent performances over hurdles. He was unlucky to bump in to a Vaughan horse, and although he looked like he needed a bit more help from the handicapper, maybe there is a little race in him over this sort of trip, but it doesn’t make much sense as he’s a 2 mile 2furlongs winner on the flat.. which would normally mean he would more likely to be successful over 3 miles on the flat. However, it doesn’t always work like that, but I’m struggling to work this horse out.   

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Eyecatchers so far
Baan (July 21st)
Cloudy Dawn (July 22nd)
Fashionable Gal (July 25th)
House Of Bourbon (July 25th)
Bahr Nothing (July 25th)