Thursday 4 November 2010

Thursday's Thoughts

4:30 Kempton
A restricted auction race over 6f. Most of these will need a transformation to win and the best form horses are vulnerable to a debutante or improver. A low draw is far from ideal at Kempton when racing over a sprint distance, however, Whitecrest is in good spirits of late and has experience of this course. Gannon is a good booking for Spearing and this £500 buy is likely to finish well, which is a plus at this level when most struggle to finish their races. Buddy Miracle has decent place claims and should be respected. Of the unraced, Winniepeg is an interesting contender for the Clive Cox team who do well with debutantes at this lowly level.

5:30 Kempton
A maiden race for fillies over 7f. Most of these have little chance. Spade probably sets the standard. This daughter of Halling is not the easiest to assess and it is puzzling whether she has been dropped out the back on her last two starts or simply struggles to go the pace. It would be a concern if she was too far off the pace on this turning track. After being ridden by a variety of jockeys it is good to see O'Neill in the saddle and being a regular for David Elsworth it may be a sign that connections mean business today. On balance I can see this filly running well although the style of racing so far could be a worry and sitting in a handy position could be the answer. Little Curtsey was quite well fancied for one of Morrison's on debut and ran on well to finish on the heels of the front two. That was a moderate level of form although this filly by Royal Applause is likely to improve a good deal for this step up to 7f. An attractive sort with size and scope, she has place claims. What tempers enthusiasm is that Morrison has a poor win rate with his fancied juveniles on their second start and for that reason alone I would favour others today. Of the debutantes Almaasah, trained by Saeed Bin Suroor for Godolphin, has to be respected. It is never easy to assess juveniles on their first start but if this youngster has ability it is likely to win. The trainer has a 42% win rate with its two-year-olds over the last five seasons at this course, which is truly impressive from over fifty runners.

6:00 Kempton
The second division of the maiden and an open race. Just a quick note about an outsider that may have a chance. Corvette, trained by John Jenkins, has shown only limited ability so far, however, this filly has recently been entered to run in Listed race, which may be a sign of encouragement.


Today's races:
12:45 Lingfield
4:30 Kempton
5:30 Kempton
6:00 Kempton
6:30 Kempton