Flat Racing 3rd April

[chris34]

2.45 Doncaster Hard to find much that stands out, although last season I thought Ming Meng might be a good thing having romped home in a good enough looking maiden for a Hamilton maiden, that was on good ground similar to todays. She failed to go on from that although did run respectably on all starts afterwards and 3rd when last seen off this mark at newcastle on heavy ground. Should be seen to better affect on this ground and it is interesting a top yard has perservered with her. 2pts e/w Ming Meng 8/1 pp 3.55 Doncaster Horse Radish is another horse I followed last year having watched him at Newmarket on Guineas weekend he looks a really progressive sort signing off the win with a decent win at Doncaster on last day of season. Certainly wouldnt want things drying out much more as he was campaigned to need soft ground last year, a 3lb rise for latest win in competitive handicap is fair, Turner retains the ride and appears to get on well with the horse, record fresh is extremely impressive aswell winning twice after a break. Not sure draw is ideal in stall 4 on todays evidence but strong place claims. 1pt e/w Horse Radish 9/1 pp

[Monterosso]

Re: Flat Racing 3rd April 2:45 Doncaster - Ursula - 1pt e/w @ 20/1 (Bet365) A truly run 6 furlongs seems to be this mares optimum and the same can't be said over this 7 furlong trip. However, I can see this being run slowly enough early on and turning into a bit of a sprint towards the end, which could play into Ursula's hands assuming she doesn't take a pull early on. The majority of her best form and wins have come on galloping tracks, including when running away with a competitive 6f contest here at Doncaster in June of '09, from a 4lb lower mark. That was a soundly run race, in which she picked up very stylishly when asked for an effort, despite meeting a bit of trouble in running. Ursula had a fair bit to do to catch Russian Spirit, who got first run on my selection and it looked a near impossible task a furlong from home, but the turn of foot from Elaine Burke's charge (then trained by husband Karl) was exceptional and she went on to score by 1.75 lengths. The filly in second has since improved significantly, last seen winning off a mark of 85 over 6f here, beating horses rated in the 100's. The form is hardly relevant now but that horse had beaten Penitent in her previous race, although that was a maiden and not relevant either! Interesting none the less. Ursula is unexposed over this trip, having only run over it on 5 occasions, with suitable conditions not falling too often. Today, she has everything to suit and the only worry would be how forward Elaine Burke has her mare at this stage of the season. However, she readied a horse from a similar break to win easily yesterday at this course and will hopefully have this 5 year old in similar form. They've had 2 winners and a place from just 6 runners here at Doncaster and given this horse's previous liking for the course, I'm of the opinion that the Burke yard could add to that. Andrew Elliot, who takes the ride, has 3 wins, a 3rd and two 4th's on board Ursula, from just 8 rides. He obviously knows how to get a good tune out of this animal and with ground conditions, draw, handicap mark and how the race is likely to pan out being likely to suit, I think she can outrun her 20/1 price tag. She's a very game animal who responds well to pressure when things are run to suit and I don't think this trip is against her at all, as she's bred to appreciate further and has seen out some of her races over this distance quite well. I could have the pace angle all wrong, but I reckon that El Dececy will set out to make all at a modest early pace, before attempting to quicken it up a couple of furlongs from home. If Ursula can get covered up and travel like she can, then I think the extra distance on a track like this, in a race run like this, could be ideal. It's guesswork to a certain extent but she ran over 7f at Wolverhampton on her AW debut, and finished fast on the back of a pace no more than decent. That was judged to be a career best run (off 3lbs higher then) and she's better suited to slower surfaces than that at Wolverhampton. I'd say she'd of won that race with a clear passage too and it's quite clear to see that she could well have a future over this trip. This isn't an overly strong heat in my opinion and I think she could be handicapped to strike again, despite being 2lbs above her last winning mark. 20/1 is about double what I think she should be, but I could have the race called all wrong so I'm only playing minimal each-way stakes. It's a worry how she'll turn up first time out but she has run well after a longer break before and could run into one of the currently available 4 places. Although if one horse drops out, we'll be down to 3 places. It's 11/2 the field, so it's a very open contest, but one she could be up to winning if on song. Imperial Djay is another one who could run well for a stable I think will find the winners enclosure more often now that they're back racing on turf, but I'm slightly concerned about her current rating. She is 16/1 though, so could be worthy of a small e/w stake-saver.