Yesterday’s Review
0.75pt e/way Calzaghi (101) – The going changed from Yielding to Soft to Yielding (Soft in places) at Tipperary yesterday following plenty of showers, but the winning times on the day were closer to Heavy than the advertised going description. The selection travelled well enough, and looked to be mounting a decent challenge in the home straight, but couldn’t find another gear in the testing conditions. He just missed out on the places by a length and a quarter finishing in sixth place. There was plenty of money around for him having been gambled on from 14/1 the night before into 4/1. He is worth another chance on a less testing surface.
Today’s Advice
ANTIQUITY (8f Hcap) – The (1.58) Doncaster looks an interesting contest with the strongest piece of form on the clock coming from the Jamie Osborne trained selection Antiquity (105), closely followed by the Dylan Cunha trained Zarathos (104). The two of them met last time out over the extended mile at Nottingham, and there was only a short head between the pair of them. On that occasion Zarathos made the running, while racing keenly, and although headed over two furlongs from home showed great determination in fighting back to go down by a short margin.
The selection raced further back in midfield, also racing keenly, and made up a (0.97) seconds deficit on the leader (about five and three quarter lengths) after the first three furlongs, according to Course Track sectionals. With such little between the two contestants, and Zarathos one pound better off at the weights, I could have landed on either of the two. I went with Saffie Osborne’s mount in the end as there are a few other prominent racers in the lineup, notably Groundsman, City Landscape and Harswell Ruby.
The Sir Mark Prescott trained Private Island could be one of those typical big, improving types that the trainer specialises in, where current form is left well behind with each run, but I was less than enamoured by the sectional times put up by the winner at Yarmouth. Harswell Ruby looked an interesting type based on her figures put together when finishing second last time out at Beverley behind Impartiality, and on a sectional timing/going allowance line through last year’s course and distance winner Puella Law, a mark of 66 should be well within her compass. I sided with the son of Tasleet in the end on pace, and reliabilty.
0.75pt e/way Antiquity (5/1 William Hill, 9/2 General) 1.58 Doncaster