Flat Racing - Thursday, 26/9/13

[smith17]

3.10 Newmarket: Court Pastoral, 5/1 Coral, win Court Pastoral finished fourth lto in her first attempt at listed level. She finished 1¼L behind the winner, Quiz Mistress. It was also her first run on soft ground and a return to a quicker surface will definitely be more to her liking. She has won all three starts in the UK and I think she has a great chance of keeping that record intact. Trainer Lady Cecil is in good form and she has a great record at Newmarket. Tom Queally chooses Court Pastoral over Songbird which is a big plus. 3.40 Newmarket: Cable Bay, 3/1 Stan James, win Cable Bay was slightly disappointing lto in the group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, when he finished third of four, over 3L behind the winner. Before that though he was impressive in two group 2s. He finished a ¼L second behind Saayer in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood before finishing a 1L fourth in the Gimcrack at York. Today's ground and trip will be ideal. Trainer Charlie Hills is in decent form and Frankie Dettori is in the saddle. 4.15 Newmarket: Genzy, 9/1 Bet365, win Genzy finished tenth in a group 3 lto at Longchamp on soft ground. The drop in class and the better ground should see a much better run today. Two runs ago he finished second in the Ebor at York over 2f shorter than today's distance. He should see out today's trip as he was finishing quite well, just not as well as the winner. Trainer Ian Williams is in decent form and Richard Kingscote is in the saddle. The pair have teamed up for 6 winners from 23 runners for a lsp of £38. 5.25 Newmarket: Victrix Ludorum, 9/1 Betfred, win Victrix Lodorum's last run in a handicap was back in May over c&d. She finished fourth, 1¼L behind the winner. She runs from a one pound lower mark today. She has since placed in two listed races before disappointing in a group 3 lto at Goodwood. She has a good record at Newmarket, having won here twice from four runs. Trainer Richard Hannon has a decent record at Newmarket and Richard Hughes is a huge plus in the saddle.

[chris34]

Re: Flat Racing - Thursday, 26/9/13 6.15 Wolverhampton There isn’t exactly an obvious front runner which is an obvious concern for my selection but there are a few that have a bit of stamina so may push on and set it up for a finisher. El Mirage is still 3lb above last winning mark over this trip at Kempton, nothing like that since that in April and something to prove. Run It Twice doesn’t shape as a sprinter at all and this is surely only being used as a pipe opener after a break but could be a pace angle. Invigilator is a frustrating one he can often get going too late but better than ever when last seen in April, further 6lb higher sure to make it tougher, record fresh bit patchy and likely to come on for the run. Hi Filwah could easily bolt up in this after finally getting off the mark at Newcastle in soft conditions, had previously thrown away plenty of opportunities and that has to be a worry and also stamina has looked stretched over the 7f trip and not totally convinced over 6f and enough to oppose at such a short price. Blazing Knight has tumbled down the weights and is now 5lb below last winning mark but has shown very little lately and headgear needs to relight the spark, yard are in reasonable form and would be no surprise to see him go well. Loyal N Trusted for me is the best option at the prices. He ran a great race last time out over CD faring best of those held up by someway and chased home an unexposed sort. 3lb higher again today but has plenty of form around this sort of mark and given a decent pace to chase he should go well. 2pt win Loyal n Trusted 6/1 VC 7.45 Wolverhampton Several consistent sorts in this. Hidden Belief has been consistent over 7f recently only narrowly beaten last week at Kempton, runs off same mark today so well treated if staying this extended mile trip some of her pedigree suggests she should stay although one try at a mile was disappointing so something to prove. Burning Dawn is consistent but needs to find something a little bit extra to be winning something like this. New Falcon is interesting stepping up slightly in trip having finished well over a mile at Bath last time out, has previously run well on polytrack and not handicapped out of things having won off a 1lb lower mark. Mrs Bannock is the most interesting for me she won on debut at Lingfield over 7f last November and taken time to get back on track this year only making reappearance 2 weeks ago over this course over 7f, the winner got a soft lead turning in that day and ran away with it and nothing really got into it but she did stay on well enough to suggest she retains ability and that she would come on for the run. Better drawn today and the step up in trip should suit given pedigree and also has a dirt pedigree so should handle these conditions better than some. Yard remain in good form and last time out was a class 4 this is a class 5. 2pt win Mrs Bannock 4/1 VC 8.45 Wolverhampton Very weak affair and few of these make any appeal. Panettone is a pretty modest inmate for the Varian yard her form is extremely patchy and worth noting both wins have come at Brighton and off marks of 60 and 59 and struggled off revised marks after that win so a 6lb penalty on this surface could scupper chances. Addikt is often used for gambles and doesn’t race very often these days and is one to steer clear of on recent efforts. Cabuchon won on penultimate start but bombed last time out off revised mark could easily bounce back but form on polytrack and fibresand is pretty woeful so perhaps one to avoid despite a weak race. Brunello might be the one to be with in this appalling race. Didn’t stay the 2 mile trip last time out but had previously ran 2 better races prior to that, drops down a further 2lb and a claimer used to take off a handy 5lb. He only has 1 win to his name and that was at Southwell off a 3lb higher mark, so would be no surprise to see him go well on this deeper surface at present. 2pt win Brunello 7/2 SJ