The King George is the main race of the day Saturday, but if you’re looking for value, the big handicap offers some good opportunities writes Wayne Bailey…
Captain Brilliance heads the early market, but [6.0] is a little short for me in a competitive field and I reckon it would be best to leave that price alone. Jeremy Noseda’s four-year-old was second to Plum Pudding last-time-out in Newmarket’s Bunbury Cup - but in fairness he could have won had the pace been a bit faster early on. He didn’t have much room to move, and Plum Pudding managed to pull a couple of lengths clear and wasn’t going to be reeled in. Captain Brilliance will be running off the same mark on Saturday and his claims are obvious - so a place bet may be the safest option. I’d have a win bet if I could get [8.0] or higher but that seems unlikely at this stage.
William Haggas’ Roaring Forte trades around [8.0], and the short price takes account of his impressive win at Newmarket back in May. He’s a fairly reliable sort and will usually give you a good run for your money. He likes to set a nice pace so Ryan Moore will have to get him into a good position early on. At Newmarket, he kicked further on when a couple of horses came up to challenge; so it’s clear that he can fight a battle and has some gas in the tank. However this is one of his trickiest assignments to date and I fear he may just find himself out of his depth this time out. At [8.0], I’m happy to click pink.
I stuck Secret Society down in my notebook last season as one to watch and so far, he hasn’t let me down. He was given a typical hold-up ride by Jamie Spencer in the totescoop6 Stakes handicap at Ascot, but won the race with plenty in hand and it will be interesting to see what sort of tactics Hayley Turner will employ on the colt on Saturday. He’s only three, and it looks like he has a bright future ahead of him. I’ll probably take a watching brief for now, but his current price of [12.0] is about right.
Racer Forever trades at [17.0] and that looks like cracking value to me. He was fifth at Newmarket last-time-out (in the aforementioned race involving Plum Pudding and Captain Brilliance), but he left it too late and had two much to do in the final furlong. I hope Jimmy Fortune gives him a more prominent ride on Saturday and he should be able to make a decent challenge. He likes a quick surface so fingers crossed the forecasted ground of good-to-firm holds up. I do acknowledge that he’s been a little frustrating to follow and I’m starting to run out of excuses - however I’m convinced we’ll see a big handicap win from the six-year-old soon, and Saturday’s price is just too high for me to resist.
Another horse I’ll have running for me in the place market is Al Khaleej. It’s well over a year since the gelding came second to Zaahid in Ascot’s Victoria Cup so we have to take it on trust that Dunlop has the five-year-old back to his best. He’s been plagued with injuries so I’m hoping he’s able to make a return this weekend after a number of setbacks. It’s fair to say that the handicapper is well wise to his ability, but if he shows any of his old sparkle he can nab a place at the very least.
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Tags: newmarket, SCOOP, SEC, thoughts
