The weather is still wreaking havoc this week, with racing decimated, not to mention putting a dampener on my upcoming cricket season! That being said, it has to be said what a sterling job the ground staff at Punchestown did last week, and my ante post fold fold put up on twitter came in, so was even better! The four were Sir Des Champs, Sizing Europe, Hurricane Fly and Quevega, and all four are previous Cheltenham winners, who will be aimed at next years festival.
If Yarmouth goes ahead there looks to be one good bet in the form of DOUBLE TROUBLE for the red hot Marco Botti yard. Making his seasonal appearance, he got better as last season progressed, a third, two seconds then a win in a Wolverhampton maiden, over the extended mile. He has been given a handicap mark of 65, and is against exposed handicappers in the 4.40, and is open to the most improvement, providing the filly takes to the soft conditions.
Turning our attentions to Lingfield, that has attracted some strong connections, and strong stables, some of which are represented in the first race, a Class 5 handicap for three year olds over 6 furlongs. The most striking eyecatcher is AMPHORA, trained by Andrew Balding for Highclere Thoroughbred Racing. A filly of Oasis Dream, she has steady progress in six furlong maidens, the most impressive being a one length fourth on Newbury on her last outing last year. The first, third, sixth, eighth and ninth have all come out and won since, and she ran like she needed the run last month at Kempton, with more to come.
As already mentioned, Marco Botti is a trainer in good form, and main jockey Adam Kirby goes to Lingfield for a debut foray into handicapping for SARATOGA SLEW, an interesting daughter of Footstepsinthesand. Her dam was an unraced sister to an Irish Oaks winner, her sire was a 2000 Guineas winner. She was well held in three decent maidens at Haydock, Newmarket and Warwick, anyone smell a handicap plot? Get your money on early, there will be money flooding in like northern rainfall.
That old boy Chjimes runs more than the leaky tap in my bathroom, and is entitled to put a good run in every now and then, and it looks like it could be his turn again come Tuesday. He thrives when he has Hayley Turner on board, and she takes the ride for the previous course and distance winner. His three wins have all come at Lingfield this season, and the track specialist could go off a more than reasonable price.
The form of the maiden ran in last season by MUZDAAN has been boosted no end in recent weeks with the winner Starscope coming out and finishing and narrow length loser in a Group 3 race at Newmarket. The Exceed and Excel filly looked very green on debut at Newmarket, and should have learnt a lot that day, not knocked about too hard. The two other runners have finished second and fifth, and given the record of the stable for producing runners first time out, he looks to have a great chance.
2.00 Lingfield – Amphora
3.30 Lingfield – Saratoga Slew
4.30 Lingfield – Chjimes
5.00 Lingfield – Muzdaan
4.40 Yarmouth – Double Trouble
The Yorkshireman – Jack Milner / @JJMSports
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