Friday 16th August
By SP2A Analysis
NEWBURY 4.20 Handicap - Class 4 - 7 furlongs - 15 run - Good
A fair number of unexposed 3 year olds and some older types who are pretty inconsistent as a rule left me with a surprisingly short shortlist of 4 runners.
I will TRACK Mercian Warrior who makes a belated 3 year old debut with some interesting 2 year old form from a stable in hot form over a considerable period.
The most likely of the older more exposed handicappers at a nice price is LYNDON B who looks very well handicapped off a mark of 77 bearing in mind some good Course and Distance efforts off around 10lbs higher and some in hotter races than this. This veteran still races with enthusiasm and may have found a level it can win from once again.
WOODSTOCK is a Course and Distance winner off a mark of 80, has flirted with Class 3, drops back into Class 4 off a mark of 82, and this is a long and stamina sapping Straight that suits some horses more than others and the course form is significant.
With 15 runners and enhanced places if you wanted a third option, my clear 3rd best rated and one who does look significantly overpriced is HAZIYM , upped from 6 furlongs, this 5 year old looks exposed but the pedigree strongly suggests 7 furlongs should actually be the optimum trip. He's dropped in here and has occasionally ran very strongly through the line full of running over a tough 6 furlongs. At the price he represents value. (TA)
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THIRSK 8.15 - Handicap Class 5 - 1 mile - 11 run - Good
At the top end of the market the support for Roaring Ralph, with a penalty and Dougies Dream is understandable. I don't think either are great win value though.
Strongbowe could be a danger freshened up but hasn't been running well for a while.
The pair that really catch my eye at very nice e/w prices (so speculative) are UTILIS and SOAMES FORSYTH and both have blinkers enlisted to help today.
UTILIS drops in Class and runs off a declining mark and has shown some promise, enough to suggest this might be a nice opportunity from a canny Yard. SOAMES FORSYTH is back to its last winning mark of 67 nicely drawn and the blinkers would not need to eek out much improvement to really have an impact. (North)