Mobsta to strike gold at Windsor for trainer Mick Channon
– It would be a crime not to back Mobsta in the big race of today at Windsor.
Mick Channon's sprinter returned from the shadows with a really encouraging performance at Doncaster last month.
And that run should set him up beautifully for the Sky Bet Windsor Sprint Series Handicap.
Perhaps the most important thing in Mobsta's weaponry is his ability to cope with extremely conditions, as his four career victories, which included a Group 2 in May 2016, were all achieved on soft ground.
Moreover, his fourth-placed finished in a valuable 1200m handicap on his comeback again showed his competence when the mud is flying.
That run deserves closer scrutiny
London
than simply analysing the bare facts as this gelded son of Bushranger missed the break.
He then encountered a rough old passage inside the final 200m and lost significant momentum.
Be that as it may, Mobsta was still only beaten 1.5-lengths by Naadirr, so that must surely rate as a sound effort.
This 1200m dash lacks the strength in depth of that Doncaster affair, while Channon will be most satisfied that his inmate has been left alone on an appealing mark of 88.
And with champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa back at the helm, Mobsta looks the proverbial winner waiting to happen.
De Sousa should double up with Bombero in the preceding 2000m handicap.
This race-fit four-year-old reports for duty just five days after he went close in a 2200m handicap at Kempton.
Bombero attempted to make the running on that occasion, but the horse was a shade too keen so De Sousa will be keen to get him more settled.
That could be half the battle as this heavy-ground winner will have no problems with conditions, having previously finished second in an apprentice handicap at Doncaster last month.
It will be interesting to see how Spanish History gets on in the concluding 1600m handicap on the Windsor card.
The four-year-old gelding has not raced for 189 days and yet must shoulder joint-top weight.
He did win nicely over 1600m at this track last October and is the least exposed thoroughbred in this humdrum line-up.
Spanish History will also have the assistance of Jamie Spencer, which is never considered a bad thing. Windsor (UK) Monday Race 1: 15:20
Delire D'Estruval can make the most of having his sights lowered at Kelso.
Ben Pauling's charge has won twice this season, including a Listed contest at Haydock, but the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Hurdle at Cheltenham proved a bridge too far.
He has far less on his plate in the Duncan & Margaret Sinclair Memorial Novices' Hurdle, however. –