Anyway...MUSSELBURGH – Sunday April 5th 2015
Going – Soft (Good to Soft in places)
I missed Good Friday’s meeting
because of work as much of Scotland doesn’t seem to do public holidays, more a
mish-mash of local holidays on which I also have to work! However I made my
first outing of the turf flat season for the Easter Sunday meeting, a lower
class card than the Friday but competitive nevertheless.
The day was billed a family day
hence funfair and stalls and lots of stuff for the kids. It seemed to work as
there was a decent crowd. As MC for the afternoon we were lumbered with Grant
Stott, a DJ with Forth One Radio, who seemed to make a great play of knowing
diddly squat about racing and offered nothing of note to the afternoon. Come
back Thommo, all is forgiven!
The card was sponsored by totepool, so insert variations on their
products in the race titles!
1.50 1m 35-58 Handicap
A dreadful contest to start the
afternoon, full of professional losers.
Wilf Storey does at least do his
best to conjure a tune out of moderate horses and his NELSON’S BAY showed way
too much resolution for the remainder here. The winning way at Musselburgh is to get near the front early, particularly over distances between 7 and 9
furlongs. Most winners are prominent on the bend and Nelson’s Way was up there
from the start. He led over one out and forged clear though it’s questionable
if he achieved much in winning. Storey had been a little worried the ground
might be a tad too soft, but Musselburgh seldom gets testing.
INDIAN GIVER, placed recently on
Tapeta, gave chase but was always second best.
KEENE’S POINTE is a weak finisher
and was held from the furlong pole.
RIOJA DAY is favoured by cut in
the ground and ran passably well in fourth.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE was well backed
and looked spot on for this. However, he gave way tamely from two out and
remains a maiden as a five-year-old.
2.25 7f 38-60 Handicap
Down a furlong for a similar class
race to the first, with another group of horses with plenty of miles on the
clock but not a great win percentage.
NOVALIST was set into the lead and
had pretty much put all in their place by the two furlong pole. He saw out his
race with a bit to spare, though it may well be different if he’s pressured on
another course. He won twice at Southwell last year, so can grind out his wins.
I reckoned SMALLJOHN might have a
class edge, and he was well enough placed from the start, but he didn’t look
that keen to go through with his challenge. He had enough left to hold second place
and give the impression he saves a bit.
HELLBENDER has yet to win on turf
and came off second best in the battle for the minor spots. He’s not betting
material even at this level.
One glimmer of promise came from
the lightly raced BLUE JACKET who kept on for fourth. She’s a nice enough
looking filly who seems to have a little ability on this evidence and may pick
up a lowly contest.
SEWN UP missed the break, and
though putting in an effort up the straight, never troubled the leaders.
OPT OUT is a law unto himself and
never showed, while JEBEL TARA looked cussed at the start and continues to
regress.
2.55 1m 1f 67-78 Handicap
A better contest than the previous
two which offered a number with a serious chance.
POLAR FOREST was progressive last
year and continues on an upward curve as a five-year-old. Another one racing
prominently, he led a furlong out and gradually asserted. He never wins by far so can’t be hammered by
the assessor, but his will to win is a potent weapon at this level.
MR RED CLUBS hit the front two out
but couldn’t respond with any extra once passed at the furlong pole. He wasn’t
disgraced and remains competitive on turf or all-weather. He hasn’t won on turf
but did little wrong here.
ARGAKI ran his best race for some
time. Having chased the leaders he looked to be feeling the pinch two out but
stuck to his task in admirable fashion. Keith Dalgleish should be able to coax
a race out of him, perhaps down a grade to Class 5.
The three were clear of SILVER
DUKE who was outpaced in the final furlong having been a threat two out.
VALANTINO OYSTER led until two out
and ideally needs an unpestered lead.
BAHAMIAN C looked race fit, but dropped
out rapidly from two out.
3.25 2m 70-84 Musselburgh Gold Cup
Handicap
LADY KASHAAN is a decent mare at
this level and slipped back below her previous winning mark. She raced in
midfield, made progress in the straight to lead two out and quickly put
distance between herself and pursuers. So well did she come clear that it must
be worth seeking out events in excess of two miles for her.
HANDIWORK is a lightly raced
animal on the flat, but is moving in the right direction. He had the rest of
the field spread-eagled, but just ‘ran into one’. A similar event seems his for
the taking.
STREETS OF NEW YORK was not
disgraced in third place and will find other opportunities as he saw out the
trip well enough.
MR SNOOZY kept on for fourth,
though well held by second and third.
MARAWEH was held up and stayed on
to grab a remote fifth place on the line. Yet to win on the flat, but by no
means a lost cause for his jumps orientated yard judged on this effort.
SCRAPPER SMITH ran an acceptable
race in sixth for one off the course for a fair time.
ROYAL SIGNALLER dropped away
tamely on the final bend and was reported as suffering from heat exhaustion.
The form can be ignored.
3.55 5f Class 2yo Maiden Auction
Stakes
POWERALLIED was fizzy in the
paddock and keen going down, but had too much speed for the fillies here.
BABY BALLERINA, another a bit keen
going down, missed the break. She picked up two out and stayed on well enough
to snatch second close home. Hopefully lessons
will be learnt from her first outing.
AYRESOME ANGEL looks a rather
leggy filly and may need a bit of time to show her best. However, she did show
some speed and only lost second place near the line.
ARISE was always struggling to
match the first two and held from the furlong pole.
4.30 7f 63-70 3yo Handicap
Another race won from the front
with GABRIAL THE TIGER making all, sticking on well when asked for extra effort
from two out. Exposed on the all-weather the hope would be that there is more
to come on the turf, though he had the run of this race.
BEACH ACTION chased home the winner
honestly enough and made a satisfactory handicap debut.
BILLY BOND was another making a
handicap debut and showed signs of greenness when asked for an effort, squeezing
up Salterello. He saw his race out to the line and has enough about him to take
a similar race before long.
SALTERELLO looked to getting the
worst of the argument even before running into trouble.
X RAISE didn’t look fully tuned up
for her seasonal debut and was reported to have hung right throughout.
RIVER OF DREAMS wasted too much
energy in the preliminaries.
5.50 5f 45-65 Apprentice Handicap
Seven of the ‘regular suspects ‘ pitched
up for the closing sprint handicap.
WINDFORPOWER can be a bit hit or
miss, but is useful on his day at this level. He got going from two out and
stuck his head in front in the shadow of the post.
ROY’S LEGACY is pretty decent in
these contests on turf as his regularly runs his race. Well drawn here, he led
until near the post and would likely have won if the ground had been a shade
quicker. Worth considering in similar events here if drawn near the rail.
LIZZY’S DREAM was off his game in
an interrupted 2014 season. He is no back number judged on a fair third here
and a fourth last time at Wolverhampton. Everything has be taken at its level,
but he is at least competitive in basement contests.
LORD BUFFHEAD finds five furlongs
here plenty sharp enough and was keeping on when the contest was done and dusted.
The Perratt pair of FINDOG and
ROCK CANYON run often and win seldom, though the later did pick a ‘best turned
out’ this time.
BRONZE BEAU was sweating and did
not look at all well in his coat. He broke well from the outside and led for
three furlongs but then faded.
From Friday’s card make room in the notebook
for:
SPRING OFFENSIVE a decent staying
on second in the Royal Mile. He was held
up against a pace bias and the form is probably better than face value.
TOM HARK who missed the break in
the same race and did well to come fourth. He was progressive last season and should
leave this form behind.
Not really for the notebook but what
a pleasure to see the battle of the veterans in the Borderlescott Trophy, with
ten-year-old TANGERINE TREES winning from evergreen BORDERLESCOTT.
No comments:
Post a Comment