Opposition
It is a fantastic day of racing today and it will be intriguing to see if Expert Eye backs up the very favourable impression he made at Glorious Goodwood in the Dewhurst here at HQ today. I have three runners up at York and so I have headed there.
Canimar ran well here on her debut yesterday and finished in the middle of the field in the 7f Fillies’ Novice. Melodies was very disappointing in the 1m fillies’ Novice at Kempton last night, she returned to us a little sore and I am hoping this was the reason why she did not run to expectations. I still believe she has the potential to be a nice filly next year.
Dark Red is our first runner in a very competitive 1m2f handicap at York which is run at 2:05. We are trying blinkers for the first time today and I hope they can bring about some improvement. He often runs well at York but I do have a slight concern about the pace in the race now Empress Ali is a non-runner, the stronger the gallop the better for us. Chelsea Lad ran a very good race in the Cambridgeshire and Anythingtoday is a progressive hose we know well. Linguistic drops in class and Law And Order is a horse who has been highly tried and cannot be ignored. The ground has dried out a little more than I would have liked but he has run well on good ground twice this year.
Agar’s Plough ran a very good race when second at Ascot on his last start and he travelled strongly before not quite finishing off as strongly as the winner in the ground. He’s racing on different ground today but good ground should be fine for him and he has a solid chance. Air Raid has the penalty to carry but did well to win on debut and shaped as if there was more improvement to come. Maghaweer is another who shaped well on debut and he should come on a fair amount for his debut. Chief Justice has shown a fair level of ability and cannot be discounted.
Opposition is our final runner in the 2m handicap at 5:00. Adam McNamara knows him well and won on him here earlier in the season. I am excited to see him over 2m on decent ground at a track that should suit him. They went very slowly at Wolverhampton last time and he stayed on well there over 2m to suggest that a faster run race over the trip will suit him. Coeur De Lion is a strong favourite who ran very well in a strong affair last time and he is a proven stayer. He will be hard to beat but I hope we can improve and run a seasonal best. Beyond the favourite it is a wide open race but the consistent Blue Hussar is one who is likely to run a big race.