Two selections today, including a speedy 6/1 shot that runs on the all-weather at Kempton.
Unfortunately Spin Again got taken on for the lead by a fellow outsider who had never made the running before and that put paid to his chances from the off, as he needs to dominate and dictate at a fairly steady tempo in order to be seen at his best. The market probably told it’s own story with this ones chances yesterday and there’ll be other days for him.
Another fall in the weights is on the way and I do think that pursuing with him over the winter will eventually pay dividends at a nice price. His run here was atrocious though, but understandable in ways given how he needs the races to pan out. Damn the all-weather to hell!
-2.00pts on the day.
Two selections for today, one coming over hurdles at Taunton and the other on the glorious all-weather of Kempton. Hopefully one could oblige and pay the ol’ Christmas bills! Cheers to all who look and fingers crossed for a bit of luck.
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2:00 Taunton - Legion D’Honneur - 2pts @ 16/1 (Ladbrokes, VC)
It’s hard to know whether Legion D’Honneur is after this extended 3-mile trip but the likelihood is that it won’t be an extreme stamina test at the distance, partly due to a lack of any obvious out-and-out pace in the contest. The track is also quite sharp and this strong-traveller can put this seasons misfortune behind him and run a big race at a fancy price. Chris Down’s 6-year-old was quite fancied last time out (sent off 6/1) in a good contest over the extended 2m 4f trip at Leicester but having blundered badly at the first hurdle, before landing awkwardly on the other side, he never had a chance to show what he could do and was quickly tailed-off. In the end, he was pulled up before halfway and that’s an effort best ignored.
Legion D’Honneur lined out in an even tougher 18-runner handicap at Cheltenham on his penultimate outing and ran quite an eye-catching race before tiring coming up to the final flight. Having been held up in rear under Tom Scudamore, who’s back on board for the first time since, Chris Down’s charge travelled and jumped well before making up ground to chase the leaders on the wide-outside a fair way from home. Not long after doing that, the tank emptied and he had little more to give, eventually weakening into a 10-length seventh place.
That was a very good effort for a long time and a welcome confidence booster, as Legion D’Honneur had a fairly heavy fall on his seasonal reappearance at Cheptsow a few weeks earlier. On that occasion, he had held every chance when leading at the second last and he may well have won if he stayed upright, although the eventually winner did it nicely so it could have went either way. That was off a mark of 115, and he lines up here off 2lbs lower, leaving a bit of hope that he’s still on a workable mark.
Possible improvement to be found by Legion D’Honneur over the trip at this very suitable track is another plus and Tom Scudamore hopping back on board could be another signal of intent, as it’s a rare occasion when he rides for this yard. Chris Down has his string in good order too and that’s another obvious positive. Overall, 16/1 looks a bit big for this fellow and I don’t think that it’s a great race, with many of the market leaders looking quite underpriced at the moment. If the horse gets a race run to suit and stays the trip, he should get involved at the business end and is surely worth a small bit of support. The market will probably guide this ones chances but I’m hopeful that today could be the day, hopefully it is.
3:15 Kempton - Sugar Beet - 3pts @ 6/1 (WillHill)
There seems to be plenty of pace in this contest and that’s ideal for Sugar Beet, who’s not one bit short of speed herself and is always going to be helped when they go off too fast at the head of affairs – something which seems very likely in today’s contest. The front-runners went off relatively quick at this track when she lined up off a career-high mark last time out but that came over a furlong further than she faces today and with the speed that Ron Harris’ 3-year-old filly usually shows, I wouldn’t be convinced that 6f is her trip, nor would a good 6f pace suffice for her even if she stays the distance (which she does, but a rapidly run 5f is her optimum).
In the end, Sugar Beet was only beaten by less than a couple of lengths despite taking quite a keen hold in the early stages of the contest and that wasn’t ideal at all. Regardless, that run gives plenty of cause for optimism with regards to her current rating of 83 not being beyond her and she was actually running off 84 last time out, so the handicapper is being a bit generous by dropping her a pound for running a perfectly good race. Whether she can take advantage is another thing but there seems to be no obvious reason as to why she can’t and the step back to 5f has to be seen as a massive positive for this in-form animal.
Previous to that, on her penultimate outing, Sugar Beet ran out a neck winner over the flying 5-furlongs at Lingfield, beating a decent field in the process (second placed horse was very well-handicapped). They also went off very hard in front that day and set the race up perfectly for her. Similar goings on are likely to be in order here and I feel that Kempton is a more suitable track for this filly, so she shouldn’t have any problem in defying a mark of 83 over this C&D before too long. Hopefully that’ll be today and with the Harris yard in good order, Luke Morris riding exceptionally well and the horse being in the form of her life, 6/1 looks like an attractive price. She was actually as big as 10/1 earlier on, which was madness but I didn’t get to the race in time. Medium win stakes will do the job and she should run a good race at the very least.
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