Flat Racing 9th Jan

[chris34]

3.25 Wolverhampton Top of the market looks the likely winners in my opinion. Tara Fay is interesting with Spencer up for Irish trainer Elliott but he has been well held in a couple of handicaps at Dundalk so looks best watched unless market says otherwise. Idol Deputy has been in great form this winter, and this CD really seem to suit him well and was an easy winner on penultimate start, up 5lb for that effort and improved again around Lingfield stepped up in trip shaped as if tank was emptying and return to this CD should suit much better with Rachael Kneller back on board and seems to go well for her. That said Mataajir looks lb's ahead of the handicapper. Really found his feet in handicaps first winning at Southwell over 7f before 7f here and then again over a mile at Southwell again last time out winning well from other course specialists, effectively only 5lb higher today under a penalty and handicapper looks to be struggling to catch up with him and I am sure when he does he is set to go up a lot more, this step up in trip looks perfect on the way he won last time out. 4pt win Mataajir 15/8 hills 1pt win Idol Deputy 11/2 hills 3.55 Wolverhampton Just a quick brief one, Near Germany is of interest as a small E/W chance in a desperately weak handicap. Having not been seen for nearly 4 years he was well back on return to hurdles last time out, looked tired before falling at last but still a respectable effort despite half the field falling at 2nd. Not won since 2005 in Germany but a mark of 48 looks too tasty to ignore in this field and been given time to get over that run over hurdles and be interesting to see if there is any money for him. 1pt e/w Near Germany 7/1 bet365

[Lars]

Re: Flat Racing 9th Jan TROJAN ROCKET (14:25) is still capable of improvement from his current mark of 65 and with a decent pace likely today, it should suit his hold-up style and it would not be a surprise to see him get back to winning ways. He was progressive over the latter stages of 2011, winning twice and going up 10lbs in the handicap in the process. He doesn’t look held off his current mark though I feel, having run well when very little got involved from off the pace over 6f here three weeks ago. The current favourite in Downhill Skier was a horse who did but I think he’s better over that trip, rather than today’s 7f. The step up in trip will suit Trojan Rocket as he doesn’t quite have the finishing kick if they go a decent pace over sprint distances, and he just seems more progressive over 7f. His penultimate effort (which was over C&D) wasn’t as bad as it looks on paper for a 5 ½ length defeat, having been ridden too prominently for a horse that prefers it out the back in the early stages. Although quite a tight race, with a few of these coming into it in form, Trojan Rocket looks to have a favourite’s chance of about 4/1 in this contest, and looks quite attractively priced at 11/2. There should be a decent gallop on offer, which will obviously suit this hold-up type and was what he failed to get last time. Michael J Murphy is more talented than most apprentices and he’s good value for his 5lb claim, also having a 1/1 record when riding for the George Prodromou stable. What’s more encouraging is the yard remains in decent form over the winter period, having had a winner on Sunday. I feel he’s a horse who could be competitive with a mark in the 70’s given a race run to suit, and with that likely to be the case, he’s worthy of a small/medium sized investment today. WISHBONE (16:25) has been given a chance by the handicapper and although it’s unlikely she’s as good as she was when a juvenile, it’s probable that she needed her two outings at the back-end of 2011 and she shaped with a bit more promise last time regardless. Dropped into what looks a weak race, she’s overpriced for a trainer whose horses are in decent form as of late. An impressive looking winner for Michael Quinlan as a juvenile back in 2009 in what turned out to be a decent enough maiden, she’s only made the track three times subsequently, so has obviously had some issues. Her last start three weeks ago however, was much better than her reappearance. She was quite slow to break but seemed to detest being held-up, which she was throughout and she looked like she’d have preferred to have been closer to the pace (was keen). She wasn’t given a hard-time and will have surely benefitted from that outing, but showed enough to me to suggest that she’ll be competitive once given a slightly more positive ride. In the end, that race favoured those prominent so she didn’t have a chance anyway, but dropped a further 2lbs in the weights and into a fillies only contest, she looks on a fairly attractive mark of 67. She was originally allotted a mark of 83, so she’s fallen some way. Jo Hughes’ outfit is a shrewd one so it’s difficult to know too much about their plans for this filly, but the way she was ridden last time suggested there would definitely be another day for her. The yard is in good form, having had a winner on Sunday and a couple more at the end of December. Both trainer and jockey only come for this one horse, which could well be a pointer in itself. This is a weak contest, shown by the fact that the unreliable Perfect Act is 5/2, and the very moderate Chester Deelyte at the head of the market. If the handbrake is fully released from Wishbone, she could run a big race. The wide draw is a slight negative, but it’s only a nine runner contest and at a price of 16/1 currently, is worth of a small/medium sized investment. The market may again tell the full story but I wouldn’t be surprised to see her sent off a single figure price. Bets 14:25 Wolverhampton – Trojan Rocket; 2pts @ 11/2 William Hill (bog) 16:25 Wolverhampton – Wishbone; 2pts @ 16/1 Victor Chandler (bog)