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Preview -
03 June 2008
3.30 Nick Willmott Memorial
Handicap Sprint 6F Soft
Horses to consider
Swimbrook – Likely to be favourite
for this handicap for the Fahey team who are well respected in
handicaps around this area and their horse that has got form at
class 3 level gets large amounts of weight from his most feared
rivals in this race. Under these conditions the weight he receives
could well be the deciding factor for this horse that has been
knocking on the door in recent weeks. The performance at Doncaster
behind Geojamli reads well in the context of this race and he
certainly should have a chance of reversing the form with Valery
Borzov on this soft surface from the last time out. The Ripon track
should suit him and as long as he settles into his race he should go
close with a strong pace assured with a couple of front runners in
the race.
Valery Borzov – With the flying form
of the Nichols sprinters so far this season it would be wrong for
their representative in this race not to make the shortlist in what
is a half decent tight handicap sprint. The handicapper has taken
little chance with this horse for that win and the 10lbs rise in the
weights could well be enough to be against him in these more testing
conditions. Showed on debut that he handles the softer conditions
but that was in a average maiden at Catterick beating a fairly known
dodge pot that day. The win last time at Thirsk was impressive and
the fact he had a few of these behind that day adds to the chances
of this horse. However the ground was quicker that day and I am not
sure that these more testing conditions will help him as he needs to
be at his best to defy the weight rise today. The horse is going the
right way and will find more improvement but it may not be enough to
defy the conditions today.
Rising Shadow – Changed handler
after a disappointing effort at his beloved York back in October and
has been hard to win with in the last twelve months for both
trainers. The run back in April at Pontefract however gives his
supporters some hope as he showed a glimmer of form that day staying
on well of a mark of 98 and has since tumbled to a mark below his
highest winning mark of 93. Weather he is ready to bounce back to
winning ways for his new handler is the question and looking at what
he has to face in what is his lowest rated race for some time
suggest that he should be able to come home well enough to land this
race on a track that is ideally suited his style on running. The
pace is likely to be strong enough for him to strike off and he
isn’t burdened with top weight even though higher enough in the
weights. Should improve on that Pontefract form as he has achieved
around a stone better run then in his last 6 runs when going close
enough at Doncaster in a listed race on first start for this yard.
Bel Cantor – Another horse that
could well cut out the running having shown in the past that he has
a lot of speed on testing ground such as this when he was
progressing through the ranks for his current trainer. Another horse
that will benefit for these more testing conditions underfoot, he
ran a cracker at this track when finishing 3rd Tajneed who looks set
to be as sprinter to follow on testing ground throughout the summer.
Well weighted in this field to give a bold show, he battled on well
when contesting a fairly decent handicap at Doncaster on good to
soft ground that day, the more testing conditions should improve
this horse on that performance and if he can shake off the
attentions on Valery Borzov on this ground there is no reason why he
can’t make the frame in this handicap today.
Graze on Gold Blend – Hard to know
what to expect of this horse as he has dropped down to a attractive
handicap mark for this race, but the run last time was to bad to be
true as he never got any nearer then last and was more or less
tailed off. That was first run of the season and John Quinn is a
master at getting them back to form. Barely raced last season, you
have to go back to his 3yo days where he won in good style over
course and distance from come out fighting. Market information would
be the best clue as to his chances on his first start back at his
favourite course since setbacks.
Verdict – only eight runners go to
post and with the rain around I hope today I have predicted the
ground correctly after Windsor last night being no where near what I
had anticipated. Swimbrook has everything in place to reverse the
form with Dandy’s runner even though he was maybe worth a few extra
pounds in hand when landing that race and if the ground was drier
then he would have had every chance of defying the 10lbs rise in the
weights. Bel Cantor will love the ground along with Rising Shadow
who has potential to bounce back to his best form and take this for
the new yard. However he may need to be lowered a few more lbs as I
wouldn’t have thought David Barron would have been too keen to get
rid of a talented horse unless he feared he would no longer be
making hay for the yard. Graze on Gold Blend should be noted.
Advised Bet –
Bel Cantor 2 pts win @ 12-1
(13’sBF)
Best of luck all
Well Chief
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