A new (well in fact a rather old column, if you still know the old blog) on Horseracing-International.com: Providing a regular list of horses that caught my eye for numerous occasions. Bringing up this column again because the All-Weather season is due to kick off and that provides usually very good opportunities, as the same horses do race oftrn again and over the winter, so you get to know them well, and of course it is a feasible amount of racing to watch - as that is the most important part of the exercise - which makes things easier. I expect this to be successful, as it used to be in the past, particularly in the last winter, when the eye-catchers did an excellent job for the blog.
Al, 2yo colt - Kempton 5th September, 6f Maiden: Interesting debut run for this Haling son. He got hampered right after the start but settled okay soon after towards the end of the field. He seemed to be slightly outpaced coming around the home bend and needed a bit encouraging by the jockey on board to keep on travelling, but in the it wasn't more than a light hands and heels ride and Al stayed on well to finish a fine 3rd over a trip which should be well short of what she requires. The winner of this race should go on to do well too, but for Al the future might lie in Handicaps. She has plenty of stamina left and right of her pedigree and will improve once stepping up in trip.I suspect that she will have two more maiden starts over 6f before she goes handicapping over a new trip and a potentially lenient mark.
State Of Union, 2yo colt - Kempton 5th September, 6f Nursery: Nursery debut that night and had to overcome the widest draw in the race. He marched to the front straight from there, while looking extremely keen and he must have used allot of energy in those early parts of the race. Yet he travelled strongly and kicked clear in the home straight. He got a bit tired in the end but brought it home. He has the pedigree of progressive 2yo sprinter and his revised mark (78) is potentially still underestimating his class. If he can settle better and has a better draw the next time, he can win again.
Yodelling, 2yo filly - Kempton 5th September, 7f Conditions Stakes: The filly couldn't have been more impressive on her racecourse debut. She appeared to be a bit green turning for home, but appeared back on the bridle and looming strongly from 2f out. In the end she won easily and emerges as a very exciting prospect. Extremely well bred, she has a good deal of stamina on her dam side, and her profile is pointing towards middle distance. She looks a very nice big, scopy filly and should improve as a 3yo. She has some potential and might even be a filly that we will see in Dubai later on.
First Rebellion, 5yo gelding - Wolverhampton 26th September, 6f Handicap: Very infrequent winner and seems to run to more or less similar forms. However his latest run at Wolverhampton over 6f suggests that with a drop in trip and a slightly more sensible ride, he's up to win a race. He jumped out of box eight right to the front, sharing the lead for most parts setting a very decent pace. He started a huge move from over 3f out and put a good deal of daylight between himself and the main body of the field, approaching the home turn with a four lengths lead. Still in front entering the final furlong, he eventually hit a brick wall with half a furlong to go, and a stayer caught up. He was still able to finish 3rd. That was a huge performance in my mind, and he has an entry for 5f at Kempton later this week which I believe is an ideal scenario, as that CD prefers horses up with the pace considerably.
Bosstime, 4yo gelding - Wolverhampton 26th September, 9f Handicap: Only his second start since coming over from Ireland. Sluggish start and had to use an awful lot of energy to get up to the front after the start. Travelled best of all their turning for home when making move from 3f out. Didn't quite see out the trip. Best performances came over 1m in Irland in competitive maidens and Handicaps when he finished runner-up three times. Expect him to drop further in the mark and down to a mile, should see him able to win a race. Blinkers would also be interesting.
Maggie Pink, 5yo mare - Kempton 25th September, 1m Handicap: Prolific front-runner but had a tough task in her latest start. Back after a summer break as top weight in a hot handicap, of a career highest mark over a trip that stretches her stamina. It was never her day. She did well for that, set a quick pace and led the field by a couple of lengths approaching the home straight. As expected she tired badly in the closing stages. Once she gets a bit of leniency from the handicapper and drops doen to her optimum 7f, she'll be well able to win another race or even races as her last performances before the break clearly indicating that she is still improving.
Steal The Scene, 2yo colt - Kempton 25th September, 6f Nursery: Lightly raced, fast improving colt. Won Windsor maiden in tacking style and was mightily impressive here at Kempton. He was caught up behind a wall of horses and had nowhere to go from 3f out. His jockey take a big pull and dropped him subsequently out to last, in order to switch from the inside rails to the widest outside. The colt found his stride very quickly again and thundered home strongly. Only a resonably talented horse is capable of doing such a move as smoothly as he did. He appears to be well handicapped and it is unlikely that the handicapper will put him up for this.
Wentworth Falls, 2yo gelding - Wolverhampton 11th September, 7f Maiden: Seems a tricky customer but has talent. Jumped quickly and led field, setting a quick pace. A strong galloper he is, he had the whole field off the bridle turning for home with a healthy advantage. When things seemed settled, his jockey gave him an additional crack with the whip to keep him focused entering the final furlong. Suddenly the gelding started to hang towards the rail badly, probably running away from the whip which cost vital momentum and a staying on rival fought him down eventually. He'll go handicapping next probably, and depending on the opening mark, could be underestimated. He is still green but will learn and as a Full brother to smart miler Strawberrydaiquiri, has certainly the right pedigree.
Steeldriver, 4yo gelding - Wolverhampton 27th September, 7f Handicap: This horse is going to win next time - if the handicapper isn't too hard on him. Reasons are obvious. After missing the break, he used loads of energy to go around whole field making up for the lost ground. While he was travelling always wide, he started big move from 4f out and turned for home as leader thanks to some impressive acceleration. He seemed to put the race to bed in a matter of strides and certainly looked the clear winner entering the final furlong. His jockey felt probably the same way and turned around one numerous occasions to see where his rivals are. He did this one time too often approaching the half furlong marker. Losing concentration on keeping the horses for a split second, allowed the gelding to drift towards the rail and through that losing momentum - which in turn cost the race as a rival cam thundering down from behind getting up on the line. Steeldriver was down to a career lowest mark and is clearly better than that, particularly over the 7f trip, which seems his optimum. Even if the handicapper puts him up two or three pounds, he should be well in.
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