Good morning from Newmarket. We have enjoyed a decent start to the 2019 campaign, with a winner and narrow second from two runners, but things step up a notch this week as we will be busy. On Wednesday Perique will make his racecourse debut at Lingfield, on Thursday Dark Red gets his first taste of Dubai Carnival action, and we may also be represented at the weekend too.
More immediately, Mr Gent is our next runner in the 7.45 at Kempton this evening, a seven-furlong 0-70 handicap. A son of Society Rock, he is now a 10-race maiden, but there are still reasons to believe he is far from a lost cause. For starters, he has been placed five times, so the ability is unquestionably there, and he has been pleasing with his work of late. It was also at Kempton that he produced his career- best performance, when a narrow second in a nursery over tonight’s C&D back in 2017.
He actually began last season rated 80 – which was probably an over-estimation of his talent – but is now down to a much more manageable 68. His most recent appearance came at Newcastle in September, when he finished well to take fifth in a handicap that has worked out reasonably well. He has benefited from a break and, whilst we do intend to step him up to a mile at some point in the near future, this looks a suitable opportunity to get him started. Franny Norton has got on well with the horse in the past, so it is good to have him back in the saddle, and the blinkers that the horse often wears are retained. This is a typically competitive race of course, but I would like to think he has a little each way chance.
All the best,
Ed.