Yearly Archives: 2023

Gentle Frank is in good form and ran very well last time over this course and distance. He should be thereabouts today and we think he has a solid chance.

It's been fortunate for us that Sausalito has been around when a series of 0-50 Classified races were scheduled at the southern tracks. Now rated 58. he won't get in another hopefully for a while, but he will still be long odds-on even with penalties for those three rapid-fire wins.

Gentle Frank is in good form and ran very well last time over this course and distance. He should be thereabouts today and we think he has a solid chance.

There were excuses for The Big Bite on both his latest outings. Third in this race last year, he now runs off 9lb lower and with the ground very much to his liking, he has to have a nice shout at finishing in the money again.

Espoir De Teillee is a very capable horse who can complicate matters for himself. Running right-handed will suit his jumping and hopefully it should be straightforward for him to get a "1" beside his name.

Big Bresil will be having his first run back after a major absence and I am still learning about him. I'm not sure what to expect from him today but hopefully he will run well and improve for the next one.

Blue Hop is an exciting novice who will improve for a fence. We are going to Ayr looking for soft ground and expecting him to run a big race. He will learn from it and improve from it as well.

Tapley ran well at Fontwell last time even though the ground was gluey. He's at his best on a decent surface so should be much happier today. He has run well on this track before and I expect him to do so again although there are two or three others in here with form claims.…

At 12, Not Another Muddle is two years senior to his half-brother Iconic Muddle and has been in action more recently, 6th at Exeter at the start of this month. He had a spell away pointing last year and, a non-winner for four years, it's hard to be too enthusiastic about his chance.

A few weeks ago racegoers needed to check their racecards when we ran Iskar d'Airy and Issar D'Airy in the same race. Now we have two Muddles, reminding us all of Lingfield's owner Ron and both owned by his widow Christine. Iconic Muddle describes Ron well and the horse won a chase the season before…

Mark Of Gold ran in the much more valuable and competitive Lanzarote over this CD last month but didn't get further than the 2nd flight. He has a great strike rate - five from 11 - and if back in his pre-Lanzarote form, would have each-way claims.

Harbour Vision has had a productive winter but the handicapper may have his measure. This is a higher grade than where he was winning.

Bells Of Stamford had been running well over hurdles in the autumn and made a promising start when 3rd over fences at Market Rasen but then disapppointed at Huntingdon on Boxing Day. We've given him a wind-op since and hopefully he can resume where he left off at Market Rasen.

Can't Beat History made an improved performance last time and will appreciate today's better ground. He starts handicapping on a workable mark and has small each-way claims today.

Scrum Diddly has his third run after which he will be handicapped and then there should be easier opportunities. He's yet to show on the track what we see from him at home but even in this four-horse race he's likely to find the two favourites very hard to beat.

Last week Kitten's Dream continued his run of late finishes and again it was too late by a couple of lengths. He usually runs well though and if only he could banish those very sluggish starts, that finishing burst will eventually be rewarded with a win. Hopefully tonight.

Southwell is offering good prizemoney for the grade of race and that should be applauded. Far more lightly-raced than his rivals, Southwold has made a bright start to his career with a win on debut followed by a 3rd under a penalty. He is still learning his trade, wouldn't be as battle-hardened as his opponents…

Colonial Empire steps up markedly in grade but has a very handy weight. We think he will have improved for his most recent run but this is a tough race.

Twilight Glory took a huge step forward last time. I feel it is all clicking for him now and conditions today are perfect. The downside is that it's a big, competitive field but I believe he has strong each-way claims.

Cloud Dancer showed promise despite signs of greenness in a junior bumper at Cheltenham seven weeks ago. These juvenile hurdle races for NH qualified horses are a welcome innovation to the programme and we hope he can give the favourite a tough battle on jumping debut.