Jumps Racing - Wednesday 25th July

[Bathtime For Rupert]

4.50 Worcester - 2pts win Rita Speak @ 6/1 (Bet365) I think John Spearing's mare here is very interesting now pitched into handicap company. Obviously she's just not good enough to compete in novice events off level weights, but now she receives weight all round off a mark of 89 and I reckon she's up to it. The maiden and novice hurdle races she's been running in have worked out pretty well with some nice horses at the head of affairs - well into the 100s and she just never had any chance of going with them. However, in all three starts over jumps she's shown promise and if she can iron out her jumping problems she could win a couple of handicaps I think. Two starts back she stayed on well enough behind the first two (clear) to finish 5th but was in a battle for 3rd and arguably would have got that position with more experienced jumps at her flights. The winner is rated 127 and the runner-up 113 there so it wasn't a terrible effort and again she shaped ok last time out. She was held up in the rear and despite some scrappy jumps managed to work her way into 6th of 13 at the finish and although she was beaten by quite a distance, she stayed on nicely to put a gap between herself and the rest behind her so she finished relatively strongly but merely didn't have the ability to go with the front five. The step up in trip looks sure to suit on track evidence as she has been staying on in her own time and a weakish handicap over 2m4f should be right up her street. Her dam won hurdles over 2m6f so she has the pedigree to be capable in these sort of races and I expect her to go pretty close today if her jumping isn't appalling.

[Edberg]

Re: Jumps Racing - Wednesday 25th July 1.50 Worcester ALLERFORD JACK 4pts win @ 11/2 bog (Bet365) 8yo gelding who had a decent first season under rules in 2011 collecting a close second in maiden hurdle over 2m3f at Fontwell (9 Mar 2011, good ground) when beaten just 3/4L by Gurtacrue (multiple winner rated up to 129 over hurdles and now 126 over fences) and two 4th places in novice hurdles (2m1f at Taunton on soft ground in February and 2m7f at Fontwell on good ground in April) and was rated 118 in that sphere. Kept mainly busy in PTP since then the Richard Woollacott-trained gelding has enjoyed a very good 2012 so far with 4 wins in 6 starts in PTPs, won the last two races in that sphere (latest 60 days ago) and ran just once over fences under rules competing in a hunter chase over 3m on good to firm at Exeter last April, race dominated by the very talented Rumbury Grey who won 5 of his 6 hunter chases this year (latest the John Corbet Cup at Stratford in June). Former amateur jockey Richard Woollacott is an experienced horse-man but has trained very few horses under rules before this season and was a bit of an unknown identity at this level until a couple of months ago but with a couple of decent animals the Devon-based trainer is enjoying a fantastic moment having saddled 3 winners from just 6 runners in the last 14 days (4 overall in this 2012-13 season) and a couple of them won with really impressive performances (Qualypso D'Allier here at Worcester two weeks ago for example). Andrew Glassonbury rode 2 of his 4 winners this season (from just 9 rides) and was on Qualypso D'Allier over today's C&D two weeks ago a track were he is 3-8 (37.5%) over fences in the last 5 seasons. The opposition is led by the Brendan Powell-trained Bennys Well who was second on his debut in a bumper at Towcester 14 months ago but had been struggling a lot over hurdles were he was rated as high as 91 but finished never better than 7th 61L behind the winner (Exeter, 2m3f, heavy ground, 1 May 2012). Sent over the higher obstacles the 6yo gelding has been showing big improvements finishing 2nd of 9 (even if beaten 23L) on his debut chase in a maiden at Towcester two months ago (25 May) over 2m4f on good to firm ground when just 4 completed and the easy winner was the experienced and pretty much exposed chaser How's My Friend, rated 101 that day and upped just 2lb after that win that underlines that form wasn't strong at all. Anyway Bennys Well gained his own merits next/last time out winning a handicap chase over today's C&D (good ground, 2 fences omitted) racing off a mark of 84 when he beat in a very narrow finish the 94-rated Wait No More (easy winner of his previous handicap chase off 87 but very disappointing on his next start yesterday at Bangor when pulled up when soundly beaten), the 69-rated Heezagrey (terribly disappointing on his next/last two starts over the same C&D when 7th and 6th off similar marks) and the 69-rated Quasyde Court (former PTP winner in 2010 who had shown absolutely nothing under rules before that very close 4th, beaten 1.75L by Bennys Well, and the subsequent second, beaten 11L, in a similar race over the same C&D 10 days later off a 2lb lower mark). Bennys Well is still very lightly raced and a win is a win especially since it came over today's C&D on similar ground but off his new mark of 89 and without Brendan Powell's 5lb claim he's gonna have not an easy race here and hopefully my selection can prove to be a bit better than this level, as I strongly believe, and beat him. The other danger should be Our Flora, a 7yo mare keen to make jumping errors (8-11-PU-9-PU her form over hurdles during the 2010-11 season and PU-PU-PU-PU-2 her form in PTP since) but finished a good second 7L behind the aforementioned Qualypso D'Allier (who won very almost in canter that day) over today's C&D two weeks ago on soft ground. The Julian Smith-trained mare is 2lb out of the handicap here but if able to keep her recent improvements going she could go close.