Venedegar galloping
Hello from a typically sunny Newmarket! Today is a busy one for La Grange Stables as we run five horses across three different meetings. After a series of near misses last week, the last few days have been even more disappointing with a mixture of odds-on losers, horses hurting themselves and just plain disappointing performances. But we carry on!
My first runner today is Venedegar in the 1.50 at Sandown, a seven-furlong maiden in which he is one of few with racecourse experience. His only outing to date was also at Sandown and he showed a bit of promise, finishing fifth behind the John Gosden trained King Of Comedy. The runner-up that day, Persian Moon, has since won very impressively at Yarmouth, so we can take a positive view of the form at this stage. Today’s race looks tricky of course, with newcomers for John Gosden and Mark Johnston dominating the betting, but I hope to see another bit of encouragement from Venedegar. He is a well-bred son of Dubawi and hopefully has a future, whether or not today is his day I am not sure.
Also at Sandown I will saddle Sageness in the mile and a quarter fillies handicap at 4.00. I notice we have been installed near the head of the market, which is surprising as she won a lowly race at Beverley last time and had previously shown little. Of course, it was encouraging to see her win last time out and hopefully it signals that a major step forward has been taken. However, she must have improved to take a hand here as she is now seven pounds higher in the handicap. We have secured the services of the excellent James Doyle for both of our Sandown runners.
We send two runners to Doncaster this evening, in the hope that the excellent work they have done with the ground there continues to pay off. Our first runner is Global Warning in the 5.50, a seven-furlong novice. This lad is sharply bred, being a half-brother to the top-class sprinters Deacon Blues and The Tin Man. However, all his riders have been telling me to go seven-furlongs with him, and the fact that he is by Poet’s Voice also indicates he might want a fraction further than his famous siblings. He is showing-up ok at home, but I am under no illusions that this is probably a warm race to start off in. It will be interesting to see how he gets on under Gerald Mosse.
Nine days ago Tom Eaves and Vision Clear were unfortunate to be touched off in a Thirsk 0-75 handicap over a mile and a half. The pair get another chance today in the 7.30 at Doncaster, though this time we drop to a mile and a quarter and stick on a pair of cheek-pieces for the first time. This is our last chance to race off his old mark, having been nudged up four pounds for Thirsk, so our hand was forced somewhat, but hopefully he will be competitive once again. The slightly quicker ground is the clear worry.
Our final runner today is Armum in the 8.20 at Newbury, a six furlong 0-80 fillies handicap. She was a good early two-year-old that lost her way somewhat afterwards, and this will be her first outing of the season. It looks a warm race and we are just hoping to see some level of encouragement on this comeback. Antonio Fresu knows the horse well and keeps the ride.