Pocket set to rocket at Brighton
MR POCKET can enjoy another moment in the spotlight by landing the Love Fairs Antiques 27 Aug Handicap at Brighton.
The three-year-old kicked off the current campaign by dead-heating at Bath in April, after posting some fine efforts among six juvenile starts last term.
He is clearly pretty battle-hardened by now and was only denied an outright victory on the line that day so the handicapper was perhaps a bit harsh in hiking him 5lb for the win.
Paul Cole’s charge then embarked on a six-week break and when returning to action at Bath at the start of June, it did indeed appear the handicapper more than had his measure as he finished down the field.
However, Mr Pocket then put up an improved show when second at Salisbury just over a week ago when the gaps perhaps did not come as readily as connections would have hoped in the final two furlongs.
It was still a good run though and a similar effort should put him in the mix here.
Harbour Law gave Laura Mongan a fantastic day out with his third place in the Gold Cup last week and while the toteplacepot At Totesport.com Handicap is hardly Royal Ascot, With Approval should nevertheless have the trainer smiling.
Placed on each of his last three starts, With Approval is clearly in rude
health at present and could be primed to end a losing spell that stretches back to last August.
He hardly helped himself when veering right from the stalls last time, so he could possibly be rated a shade better than his length-and-a-quarter defeat suggests.
The handicapper has given him a chance by leaving him on his lowest ever mark of 58 and it is surely only a matter of time before the pieces fall into place for this five-year-old.
Bromance can make it two out of three at Beverley this year in the Skidby Handicap.
Peter Niven kept his charge busy on the all-weather through the winter but the four-year-old could not get his head in front until heading to the Westwood at the end of May.
He saw the 10-furlong trip out in style that day off a perch of 56 but could not repeat the track off a 4lb higher mark back at the track last week.
Beaten a length at the line, the pace was nowhere near as strong that day as it had been when Bromance won, so that could account for the fact he did not pick up when asked with quite the same zest.
There are one or two runners in here who like to do it from the front though, so that should be a help for Bromance’s chances.
Michael Bell should just about have his feet back on the ground now after Big Orange’s Ascot triumph and his Arabian Jazz looks a likely type for the Racing UK In Glorious HD Novice Auction Stakes.
She unseated her rider on her racecourse bow but has placed in two starts since, most recently when third at Brighton a month ago.