Red Verdon
The expected rain did not materialise at Newmarket or York yesterday and we will therefore have both of the big meetings run on decent ground both tomorrow and on Saturday. There should be some fantastic racing and it will be great to see it run on a sound surface.
Baasha ran well at Brighton when beaten narrowly into third. He is likely to be put away now until next year. Sporting Times disappointed at Leicester having been in a good position and we will send him away for a Winter holiday now. Zamjar was fourth up at Newcastle but he did not finish as strongly as I hoped having started to make ground up the near rail, he got a little isolated and he may be better running through horses. First Quest was a staying on fourth but he struggled to get involved having been held up from his wide draw.
Red Verdon is our only runner today and he runs in the 7:15 at Chelmsford. He ran well at Doncaster when second in a Conditions race before disappointing last time at Newmarket. I am dropping him back in trip tonight and have added cheekpieces. He seemed to come out of Newmarket well and I hope we can get him back on track this evening. Boynton has a long absence to overcome but he was a classy two year old and he will take a lot of beating if he has retained even the majority of his ability. The trip is a slight question mark on his pedigree but the surface should be ideal. Victory Bond looked like he may win the Sky Bet York Stakes before not finishing as strongly as some and he is a big threat. Murad Khan and Ickymasho are likely to need to run personal bests to win but both are good horses and the mare is proven over course and distance.