Good morning from Newmarket! After a weekend in which the results could be characterised as mixed at best, we get the new week started with a busy day featuring runners at Ayr and Beverley.
In the two-year-old six-furlong novice at Ayr at 1.30 Maysong has his third outing and bids to go one better than when second at Nottingham in June. It is not lost on me that this is an awfully long way to send a young horse, but this colt requires an ease in the ground and we have had to sit on our hands for a long time waiting for a suitable surface. When entries opened for Ayr we realised that there was a chance of getting the right ground, and so it has transpired.
There are one or two choicely-bred newcomers in the race who might prove a little tough to handle, but our horse showed great encouragement on his second start and the fact conditions have come in his favour is surely a big advantage against an inexperienced field. He will qualify for nurseries after this, so one way or another it is vital he has his third run, and I am hoping for a good showing.
Our second runner at Ayr is Annexation in the seven-furlong 0-65 handicap at 3.05. There has been a bit of money around for this horse I see, and it is fairly easy to make a case for him. He has displayed a little promise in his three novice runs and will probably derive benefit from stepping up a furlong in trip. The softer ground is something of an unknown and certainly a risk, but as a son of Wootton Basset you would like to think it is not a huge problem.
So we are going to the races hoping for a good run, but there is no doubt the horse needs to step up from a form point of view, and facing a field of experienced handicappers will be a different kettle of fish to what he has been used to. We will find out what he is made of, but I keep my fingers crossed for a big effort. Tom Queally will be riding both of our Ayr runners.
Our third and final runner of the day will be Maqaadeer in the 7.30 at Beverley. This horse had been a little disappointing prior to getting off the mark with a gritty display at Nottingham just over a fortnight ago. On that occasion a forcing ride back up at a mile and a quarter seemed to be the making of him.
Getting an easy lead here will not be straightforward, however, and he is another young horse we are pitching in against several tough and consistent older handicappers. There are also several course winners in the field, so he might giving a bit away in terms of track craft. On the flip side, he hung to his right at Nottingham, so the switch to a right handed course is a positive, and as a three-year-old receiving the handy weight for age allowance he looks potentially well-treated. A three pound rise in the weights inevitably makes life tougher, but this is a good opportunity for the horse and for us to learn more about him. Dane O’Neill takes the ride.
All the best,
Ed.