O’Brien raider has high hopes for Bath visit

RACING: Form in Ireland marks fouryear-old down as a real contender

HIGH LANGUAGE can rise to the challenge of the British Stallion Studs EBF Beckford Stakes at Bath.

The Listed event has attracted the attention of a clutch of leading yards and tempted Joseph O’Brien to fire two shots from Ireland.

One of them is four-year-old High Language, accompanied across the Irish Sea by stablemate Cascabel as well as Willie Mullins’ True Self.

Lightly-raced, High Language progressed in four relatively quick runs last year including a maiden victory at Killarney.

She returned to finish a promising fifth in a Listed race at Gowran in May, and then, back from another break last month, outran her odds to fill the same position at Galway, little more than three lengths behind subsequent Longchamp winner Princess Yaiza.

That form puts her bang in the picture here.

In the Octagon Consultancy Handicap, FINAL CHOICE is top of the list on just his second start for Adam West and first back on turf since the end of his hurdling campaign with Warren Greatrex four months ago.

Final Choice was only a neck away from flooring an odds-on shot at Chelmsford last week, and is guaranteed stayer in this marathon.

MAKNIFICO’S credentials are perhaps not entirely obvious in division one of the Bath City Let Handicap, but he may be worth chancing nonetheless.

William Knight’s three-year-old gelding has achieved relatively little so far, and has twice gone off at very big odds in his three starts. But he makes his handicap debut at a realistic level, and has the assistance of Silvestre de Sousa.

The Bobby Renton Handicap Chase is the highlight of Wetherby’s first jumps fixture of the season, and Nigel Twiston-Davies can be relied upon to have BALLYANDY ready.

The stable’s runners never lack for fitness, and their former Betfair Hurdle winner showed enough in his truncated first campaign over fences to be competitive at this level.

SELECTIONS

BATH: 1.50 West End Charmer, 2.20 Final Choice, 2.55 HIGH LANGUAGE (NAP), 3.25 Raheeb, 3.55 Our Oystercatcher, 4.30 Institution, 5.05 Maknifico, 5.35 Elation.

WETHERBY: 2.10 King D’Argent, 2.45 El Terremoto, 3.15 I Just Know, 3.45 Ballyandy, 4.20 Dubai Angel, 4.55 Ink Master, 5.25 Midnight Shadow.

DOUBLE: High Language and Final Choice.