COVEX CAN FIND CODE AT BRIGHTON
RACE of the day for me is the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Brighton Mile Challenge Handicap, and it has attracted a decent field, both in terms of numbers and depth.
I want to field against horses in the inside couple of stalls in big-field races over a mile at Brighton, as the course bends right just after the start, before the field manoeuvre left into the straight.
That gives those in the innermost stalls a fair bit of ground to cover in order to hold track position, and they are best opposed for punting purposes.
Today’s race has 13 runners, and in fields of 13 over C&D since 2009, there have been 16 races, with the lowest three stalls winning just two of those, while the highest three stalls have won eight.
That trend continues in larger fields, and also for places, with those drawn middle-to-wide accounting for the vast majority of placed horses and those drawn low underperforming.
I mention these stats because three of those near the head of the market — Poetic Force, My Boy Jack and Uncle Dick — are drawn 1/2/3 respectively, and putting a line through them makes the contest more manageable.
THE COVEX KID (3.40 - Nap) makes most appeal, and is well berthed in stall 10.
Improve
The son of Mehmas has done nothing but improve since joining Amy Murphy, gaining form figures of 111321, with the latest a careerbest effort to score by five lengths over C&D.
He put up a smart performance on the clock and still appears to be improving.
That makes him nap material, but there are others in the race of some interest.
At the time of writing Darvel is 25/1, and while I can’t see that lasting, he looks overpriced on what he achieved when runnerup over C&D in May.
On the plus side he is drawn in stall 12, but he has been below form here on his last two starts, and perhaps is developing a dislike for the unique track.
Both those runs were in cheepkieces, and perhaps the headgear was to blame, as he goes without them here.
Form
Of the others drawn high, La Rav makes limited appeal on this season’s form, but is now 7lb lower than when winning at Beverley 11 months ago.
At Pontefract, I thought it might be worth chancing DASH OF SPICE (3.20) in the tiesplanet.com - Ladies Love Guys In Ties Handicap.
The gelding was a smart middle-distance handicapper for David Elsworth before injury intervened, and has gradually dropped in the weights for new trainer Adrian Keatley.
His only win for new connections came at this track off his current mark just under a year ago, and the return to Pontefract will suit if he’s ridden to lead as he was at Beverley last time.
Dash Of Spice didn’t look to stay under an aggressive ride at Beverley, but Pontefract suits such tactics better, and if he can get rolling in front under Paul Hanagan, he could prove hard to catch, particularly if able to dictate his own terms rather than going off too hard, as he did last time in my view.