Good afternoon from Newmarket. After a successful raid on Lingfield yesterday we attempt to repeat the feat with two runners at Kempton this afternoon.
Our first runner will be Toro Dorado in the mile 0-70 handicap at 4.00. Toro was a talented but frustrating sort prior to getting his head in front at Woverhampton two starts ago under an excellent Oisin Murphy ride. The jockey is able to resume the partnership this afternoon, though Toro has since blotted his copy book with a poor display at Bath.
In Toro’s defence he was rather snookered by the draw at Bath, but the race did confirm the suspicion that he is a better performer on artificial surfaces. This is reflected in a career record on the grass of no wins and one placing from eight starts, compared with one win and two placings from seven on the AW. The handicapper feels similarly, as he has now given him a turf rating of 62 compared to an AW mark of 66. It might yet be that under the right circumstances we wish to explore his turf rating again in the future, but a mile around Kempton at this sort of level is his bread and butter. Back under these conditions, and from a decent draw, it is hoped that he will show his true form once again and can be competitive.
In the 4.30 Tadleel makes his comeback from over a year off the track in the seven-furlong 0-85 handicap. This talented son of Dark Angel is a three-time winner who has pleased us in his homework since he returned to training, and hopefully there is still plenty more to come from him. However, he is ideally suited by a mile (and may even go further at some point) and today’s run will help to blow away the cobwebs.
So we are hoping for the best, but this is very much a starting point for the horse and we are looking to see some signs that he retains his ability with the future in mind. I keep my fingers crossed for an encouraging run under Jim Crowley.
All the best,
Ed.