Red Verdon
We had a little overnight rain here at HQ and the ground will remain on the soft side for the rest of the Cambridgeshire meeting. I worked some of the two year olds on the Limekilns this morning and I hope to get some of the later maturing types onto the racecourse for their first starts before the end of the turf season.
Amlad and Tadleel were both disappointing here yesterday but neither appeared to handle the ground and they were looked after when their chances had gone. Baasha improved on his debut effort when sixth at Newmarket and Highcastle was green on his debut in the same 1m Maiden.
We run nine horses today at three different venues today. Global Spirit and Vision Clear both run here in the 7f Maiden at 4:10. Vision Clear ran better last time but this looks a warm Maiden with the front two in the market setting a strong level of form to aim at. He will improve with time and I just hope he can show promise like he did last time. Global Spirit was far too keen on his debut and I hope he can settle better today and finish his race off better than he did on the July Course.
Red Verdon runs in the Godolphin Stakes at 4:45. There has been a little overnight rain and some further drizzle this morning, there is a little more rain forecast before racing and I think that makes Frontiersman vulnerable. He is extremely talented and sports blinkers for the first time and if they work then on his second in the Coronation Cup, he should win. He has twice been withdrawn on soft ground however and he ran a little below par in the Geoffrey Freer and whilst it will not be bottomless this afternoon, it could be harder work than he likes.
Our colt will enjoy the ground and I would expect him to improve for the step up to 1m4f. He ran better last time and had to do the donkey work early on in the race so we were encouraged by the performance at Doncaster. Red Galileo is a horse I know well having trained him who will handle the ground and he comes into this with two seconds in competitive handicaps and he should run his race and not be far away. Best Of Days won’t want any more rain and Connecticut could have done with slightly better ground given he has been off for over two years. Uele River took a big jump up when she won a French Listed race last time but she needs to take a little step forward again whilst Colonial Classic ran badly last time but she should appreciate the ground but will need to improve on what she has shown so far. I am looking forward to seeing how we get on in what should be an intriguing race.
Mutabaahy runs in the 2:45 at Haydock and the race has fallen apart due to the heavy ground there. He was a little keen last time early on and I hope he can relax today as he will need to or it might be hard to get home. He seemed to handle the ease in the ground at Lingfield but ground this soft is an unknown for all of the runners. Feebs stepped forward to run a good race at Catterick last time and has to be respected
whilst Wrenthorpe is the only unraced horse in the race and he would not have to be a superstar to figure. We are hopeful our colt can win but it is a very hard race to assess given it will be hard work for all of the field.
Sir Gnet is our first runner up at Newcastle. He rarely runs a bad race and now he is settling better we felt it is time to try him up at 1m4f. Newcastle is not always the ideal place to try it given the races there can turn into sprints but with the ground nearly bottomless everywhere we have decided to take a chance. He has been staying on well in his races over 10f and hopefully that will be the case this evening over a mile and a half. Pioneertown looks the main threat, he has also been running well without winning bar his disappointment last time on soft ground. The form of his second at Kempton has worked out well and a repeat of that will see him go close. Astute Boy has been running well on the turf and he looks a strong stayer but the three pound rise for his latest second means he will have to improve again this evening to win. Ninepin Bowler is not bred for this trip but it’s interesting he steps up half a mile in distance on his handicap debut and support for him would be interesting.
Oud Metha Bridge and Zamjar are contesting different divisions of the 1m handicap. Oud Metha Bridge has been disappointing on the turf and he is off an eye wateringly eight pound higher mark on the all-weather. His last try on it saw him win well here and although he seems to handle the turf at home, it may be he is a better horse on the all-weather and so we are running him here to find out. Zamjar appeared to be staying on at Kempton and looked like he would stay the mile trip until he was hampered late in the race and so we are trying a mile with him again. If he does stay the trip then he is not without a chance on his best form.
Arnarson is our final runner in the 8:45 6f Maiden. On his best form he would be heavily odds on here but he has been very frustrating. He has to put a disappointing run behind him at Thirsk but we have freshened him up since that effort and he seems well at home. Port Soif is unraced and could pose the biggest threat but a repeat of his second at Carlisle behind the progressive Kynren, or even a repeat of six of his previous eight runs would hopefully see him win here and it will be hard to find a weaker race than this going forward.