KITTOW WILL GO ABOVE AND BEYOND FOR BIRTHDAY
AFTER a bit of a quiet spell Stuart Kittow is back among the winners, with wins in consecutive days at Ffos Las during the week with Coup de Force and Fawn At Play.
Such a revival is good news for supporters of BEYOND EQUAL (4.19 Salisbury - Nap) in the Archie Ford 18th Birthday Celebration Handicap, who would have been the pick on historic form in any case, but is doubly interesting with his stable coming out of the doldrums.
Sometimes you have to make a big effort to explain why a horse represents a betting proposition in handicap company, but on other occasions, the matter is more straightforward.
That’s the case here, as Beyond Equal’s handicap form at Salisbury reads 111 (lifetime handicap form in turf sprints below class 3 reads 511521115214).
Having been high in the weights for some time, he looked to be coming back to form at Sandown last time, staying on over 5f to be fourth to Chipstead in a race working out well, with the winner and second having gone in since.
Now 2lb lower than his last turf win — at this venue last summer — all looks in place for a big run today.
I’m not keen to bet on nurseries until the autumn, as it’s so hard to keep track of which horses are going forward in form terms and which are regressing.
Majority
But the good thing about the Racing Welfare Supporting Racing’s Workforce Nursery Handicap is that the majority of the runners have already reached their limit and the prospect of running into a handicap blot look very slim.
One who could do better, but has a fine chance on form in any case, is GONE (6.30 Chelmsford), who can be forgiven a modest run on handicap debut at Carlisle having posted her best effort over C&D on her final qualifying run.
A repeat of that effort could well be good enough from a positive draw and she is worth persevering with on the basis that she looks a better performer on this surface than turf, something backed up by the limited evidence of her sire’s progeny.
Her run here last month saw her finish a creditable fourth to Expeditious, with a previous winner second, while third home Raven’s Up won next time to give the form some substance.
The timefigure backs up that notion and she should prove hard to beat assuming she can replicate that form, with Unagi, another who has run his best race here, appearing the one she has to beat.
Like Beyond Equal, HARB (7.00 Chelmsford) has found life harder this season but hinted at a revival when keeping on well for third over 5f at
Sandown last time.
He looks worth chancing with stall 1 ideal for one who can blaze early.
An easy winner at two for Mark Johnston here at Chelmsford, he was picked up by William Knight as part of the Shadwell dispersal sale at the end of the season but in truth was very disappointing in five starts for him, beating only a handful of horses home, and tried in headgear to no avail.
A move to Peter Crate in the summer, however, seems to have done some good, finishing in the placings in both starts for his new yard.
And he stuck well to his guns last time, rallying to take third in the dying strides behind
Phoenix Star, who was afforded the nap vote in this column.
He looks more like his old self now, and from a mark 15lb lower than when joining Knight and a plot draw to work from, it’s time to side with him.