Thursday 9 December 2010

Thursday's Thoughts

2:15 Wolverhampton
A 0-65 nursery over the extended 7f(32y). Most of these look terribly out of form. Irie Ute ran well at Southwell to gain his first victory in a photo finish. A colt with some natural speed, he is likely to sit handy.It is questionable what Kirk's two-year-old beat that day as the time before in maiden company he was a long way adrift. Sky Diamond is the selection for this race as Given's clearly has this gelding in good form and transformed for the application of blinkers. The main concern is this drop back in distance. When running at Kempton over 7f, this son of Diamond Green wasn't best away and then found himself some way off the pace. Whether this was just through circumstance or outpaced is a slight concern. Considering Sky Diamond has run over sprint distances for much of his early career - and showing some ability - this distance may not be a problem. Whatever the tactics, this two-year-old should finish with some gusto, which is half the battle at this lowly level.

4:00 Kempton
A tricky race with Johnny Hancocks, Golden Shine and Instructress similarly matched on recent form. None look the type to rely upon especially Instructress who has been next to hopeless on her last two starts. Miss Toldyaso is quite a speedy little thing and even from a bad draw may sneak a lead. In her last two races, Quinlan's filly has touched odds-on in-running but struggles to finish and may be a good bet to lay option if gaining the lead. She may hold on for a win but looks vulnerable.

5:30 Kempton
The most interesting race of the day - a restricted auction race over 1m. Flying Power and Blue Maisey are very similar on form after dead heating for second place at the course last month. The former trained by David Lanigan is quite an attractive gelding but seems to have his own ideas about racing and not the most fluent of strides. The main plus is that this son of Dubai Destination has a high level of speed and it wouldn't be the biggest surprise to Chris Catlin gain an easy lead. The converse is true of Blue Maisey - at least on her last run - where she was some way off the pace but made up an impressive amount of ground over the last furlong, which gave the impression she would take some beating today. Phase Shift isn't the easiest to assess although I would think she has something to find with the two major hopes. Nothing To Hide could be the dark horse in this field as at his best he would win this race without too much fuss. This gelding went off the boil in his last two races but Ffrench Davis has given this gelding a decent break and certainly one to fear. Probably the best indicator to his fitness is the betting and if backed it would be a sign of encouragement.



Today's races:
2:15 Wolverhampton
4:00 Kempton
5:00 Kempton
5:30 Kempton