TimeformBlog

William Muir's Cruiser has kept some good company in this year and has generally performed with credit, including when sixth in the Britannia at Royal Ascot. Perhaps his most eye-catching piece of form is a close second to Directorship in another handicap at Ascot in July. Cruiser was arguably a bit unlucky that day in that he was forced to wait for a gap, but even if he was beaten on merit it's a strong piece of form (the winner went in in a big field at Newbury next time) which gives him excellent claims off the same mark at Sandown (15:55). Cruiser has run just respectably on his last two starts, but has excuses in that the trip wasn't suitable on either occasion and, returned to what looks his optimum distance this afternoon, he should go close.

One of the more interesting ones in the ten-furlong handicap later at Sandown (16:30) is Spirit of Gondree, who is unexposed and shaped quite well before a possible lack of fitness told in a course-and-distance event on his belated reappearance last month. However, there is another horse in the field with outstanding claims from a handicapping point of view, and that is Icebuster, who has two rock-solid placed efforts to his name on his two most recent starts. The first of those came at Salisbury when he was third behind an upwardly-mobile Godolphin horse and last weekend's Ascot winner Electra Star in a race that produced a very good timefigure. He then went to Ripon where he pulled 10 lengths clear of the third in finishing second, having rather conceded first run, to Sangar. He is due to go up 5 lb for that, but can race off the same mark today and should take a bit of beating if in the same form.

Up at Chester, the three-year-old handicap at 16:50 looks a reasonably competitive race, but there's one that stands out more than the others in the twice-raced William Haggas-trained colt Gobooll. He only made his debut in June, when shaping extremely well amid greenness at Newmarket, and duly stepped up to land a mile-and-quarter maiden at Kempton last month, recording a good time and with a subsequent handicap winner in behind. His opening mark actually looks pretty fair even on that bare form and with improvement likely he looks well worth backing, particularly against a favourite in Midsummer Sun who is seemingly priced up more on reputation than anything he's actually achieved.

Recommendations
Back Cruiser @ 7.4 Sandown 15:55
Back Icebuster @ 4.0 Sandown 16:30
Back Gobooll @ 4.3 Chester 16:55

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