Mudallel
Good morning from Newmarket. We suffered a disappointing day yesterday, but we go again this evening with two runners at Chelmsford!
The ball gets rolling with Homesick Boy in the 5.45. A son of good US miler Data Link (a turf performer but son of War Front) and out of a Street Cry mare, we have to hope that he will be suited by synthetic surfaces. He showed a good bit of promise on his Windsor debut recently, running on in very encouraging fashion over a mile on soft ground. This probably represents a tougher assignment - and it might be expecting a bit much to think he can win – but I hope to see him continue his progression and take a step forward from debut. He has been dismissed in the pre-race betting, but I hope he will run a little better than his odds suggest. Fran Berry retains the partnership.
In the 7.45, a mile 0-80 handicap, Mudallel tries to notch up his second win of the season. He was a little out of form at the start of the year, but consequently his rating dropped to 80, which is just two pounds above his highest winning mark from 2017. A win over this C&D in August duly followed and that effort was followed by a second place finish, again at Chelmsford. He was raised in class for his next two outings, but didn’t prove quite up to it, before showing that he retains his enthusiasm when a good second at Newcastle recently. The return to Chelmsford looks a major positive, and this is just the sort of race that he can compete in. There is always the worry that he might bump into something just fractionally better handicapped, but he looks set to run another big race and goes there with good each way claims.
All the best,
Ed.