Good afternoon from Newmarket. We are off to the seasisde today with four runners at Yarmouth, though unlike most beach goers we would be quite happy to see some rain!
We get underway with Global Acclamation in the 1.40. A six-furlong winner at Chelmsford earlier in the year, his form had dipped prior to us stepping him back up in trip to seven and applying a pair of cheek-pieces. That combination has resulted in decent efforts at Brighton and Yarmouth the last twice, and there is little reason to expect anything different this time. There might be one or two better handicapped but he is competitive from this mark, likes the track and prevailing conditions and has found a new vein of consistency. He ought to run his race and we hope for the best.
In the seven-furlong novice auction for two-year-olds at 2.15, Magnificia attempts to build on her recent Newmarket debut. On that occasion she was slowly away and very green throughout, but if you kept your eye on the back of the field she could be seen making some late gains. Now, she is inevitably up against it in a competitive-looking race following that effort, but I would like to think she can step forward somehwat.
At 2.50 Sir Gnet returns to the fold in the mile and three and a half-furlong 0-65 handicap, after a little spell on the sidelines. Minor issues have held him up, nothing serious, but he has not run for the better part of three months. He is not the soundest, so might ideally want softer ground, but hopefully we will get away with it. This looks a good starting point, as Yarmouth should suit, it is his sort of level, and we are able to keep Dan Muscutt on board – who has built such a good rapport with the horse. Dan has recommended taking the hood off, so we will see how that works, but there is no doubt he will do well for the outing.
In the 3.25 San Sebastian takes his first steps in handicap company. A son of Iffraaj, who is closely related to numerous good horses that my family has been associated with, he did not race at two but made steady headway in three maiden/novice company earlier in the season. He earned a mark of 76 after those three runs, and we would like to think he will be competitive from that sort of perch, whilst a step up in trip to a mile and a quarter was recommended by all his jockeys, so hopefully we are landing at the right sort of distance. The chief concern is the ground, as he is a big and strong, heavy topped individual, and genuinely rattling fast ground could be an issue. We will monitor conditions closely and not take any undue risk, but hopefully he can take his chance as this looks a good opportunity for him to run well. Apart from Sir Gnet, Rab Havlin rides all of my runners today.
All the best,
Ed.