Take Tat and party
TATLISU recently ended a near 16-month losing streak with victory at Newcastle and he can replicate that success in the Betway Sprint Handicap back at Gosforth Park.
The seven-year-old may only have won seven of his 49 races to date, but he has been a regular contender for some of the hottest handicap prizes over recent years, including the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood.
Indeed, his finest hour came in just such an event as he posted what was undoubtedly a career-best effort when winning the Ayr Silver Cup back in 2015.
However, there have been more downs than ups since that triumph and Tatlisu has dropped from a career high mark of 103 to as low as 85, which proved the magic number as he got back to winning form in January.
Raised 5lb for that success, Tatlisu narrowly failed to follow up dropped back to the minimum trip next time while a step up to seven furlongs most recently proved beyond him.
It therefore makes sense for Richard Fahey to return to his favoured six furlongs here and with Sebastian Woods taking off a valuable 7lb, Tatlisu could have his optimum conditions for further success.
Mandrell returns from a long spell on the sidelines in the 32Red Casino Fillies’ Handicap and it would be dangerous to discount her chances.
A winner at Kempton on her only start to date back in 2015, it is interesting that the Godolphin team have opted to continue with this daughter of Dubawi.
Her dam was a dual Grade One winner though and Mandrell won quite tidily on her opening effort, so perhaps Charlie Appleby feels they have only just scratched the surface so far.
Escalating recently hit the mark at Southwell and a repeat victory would not be totally unexpected in the Betway Handicap at the Nottinghamshire venue.
The five-year-old was a winner last June but then had to endure an unsuccessful run of results until bouncing back to his best just over two weeks ago in a moderate event.
This is merely another average heat and while a 5lb hike is clearly not ideal, he remains some way below his best mark.
Wishfull Dreaming has plenty live up to as a full brother to the admirable Wishfull Thinking and while he is still a distance short of matching his sibling, victory in the Bathwick Tyres Dorchester Handicap Hurdle at Wincanton should still prove sweet enough.
A Listed winner at bumper level back in 2015, he was then off the track for nine months before embarking on his hurdling career with a victory at Worcester with just one more run before another lengthy period on the sidelines.
An initial win this term promised much and while his subsequent fifth at Cheltenham might have been disappointing, that defeat came at the hands of the prolific Cliffs Of Dover.
He again bumped into a good one as he finished fourth behind Champion Hurdle-bound Brain Power at Sandown, which in retrospect reads very well indeed.
Refreshed after a mid-season break, Wishfull Dreaming can get back on the winning trail here. P Holmes 6 9-8 (D2) .......................... D Tudhope (112) P Niven 4 9-7 .................................. J P Sullivan (19) A Carroll 7 9-6 (D) ............................. G Downing (19) M Attwater 8 9-5 (D) .................. L Morris S Corbett 5 9-2 .................... P Makin (49)GSwinbank69-1 .................. JFanning (50) Oliver Greenall 4 8-12 (CD).. K Stott (30) I Jardine 4 8-7 ........................ J Gormley (7) BETTING: 11-4 Spirit Of The Vale, 4 Kerry Icon, 9-2 Dancin Alpha, 6 Embankment, 7 Bogardus, 8 Innoko, 10 Patent, 20 Frightened Rabbit. GIANT SPARK (141) P Midgley 5 10-0 (D4) ......... P Mulrennan GLENROWAN ROSE (149) K Dalgleish 4 10-0 (D) .... C Beasley PROFESSOR (40) M Attwater 7 9-11 (D4) ................... L Morris GOD WILLING (103) D Carroll 6 9-9 ...................... D Tudhope TATLISU (23) R Fahey 7 9-9 (CD2) ........... Sebastien Woods (7) CAPTAIN DION (31) K Ryan 4 9-8 (BF, CD) ................... K Stott AGUEROOO (48) O Pears 4 9-8 (D3) .......................... A Mullen INTENSE STYLE (134)JLEyre59-7(D3) ....................... JHart JAYWALKER (112) Rebecca Bastiman 6 9-3 (CD) . P McDonald ELYSIAN FLYER (27) P Midgley 5 8-12 (D3) .................... G Lee LUIS VAZ DE TORRES (43) R Fahey 5 8-11 (D3) ..... P Hanagan DUBAI ONE (96) S bin Suroor 3 8-7 (C, D) ........... Oisin Murphy BETTING: 9-4 Dubai One, 7-2 Giant Spark, 6 Glenrowan Rose, 7 Captain Dion, 12 God Willing, 14 Aguerooo, 16 Professor, Jaywalker, 20 Others.
11-4 Tracked leader, led inside final furlong, ran on, won at Wolverhampton 5f Conditions Stakes (2yo) (2) in Dec beating Gheedaa by 1/2l, 6 ran. 3-1fav Led, joined halfway, pushed along and headed 2f out, under pressure over 1f out and regained lead 150 yards out, kept on well, won at Navan 6f hcp in Oct beating Rattling Jewel by 1 1/4l, 9 ran. 16-1 Chased winner, every chance over 1f out, no extra final furlong, 2nd of 6, 1 1/4l behind Caspian Prince at Musselburgh 5f cond Stakes (3) gd in Oct. 11-4fav Led, ridden 1f out, soon headed, lost 2nd place near finish, 3rd of 9, 1 1/4l behind Nimr at Wolverhampton 7f hcp 0-95 (3) in Feb. 25-1 Tracked leaders, pushed along 2f out, ridden over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 6th of 12, 3 1/2l behind Keystroke at Wolverhampton 1m 1f hcp 0-95 (3) in Nov.
7-1 Dwelt, mid-division, headway on inner over 1f out, driven and ran on towards finish, 5th of 10, 2 1/2l behind Kasbah at Lingfield 6f hcap (2) pol in Jan. 6-1 Overall leader, centre, ridden and headed inside final furlong, no extra, 7th of 13, 2l behind Cornwallville at Newcastle 6f hcp 0-95 (3) in Nov. 40-1 Tracked leaders on inside, ridden over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 5th of 13, 6l behind Keystroke at Kempton 7f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Jan. 10-1 Led 2f, under pressure over 2f out, soon lost place, 4th of 8, 1 3/4l behind Slingsby at Newcastle 6f hcp 0-85 (4) in Feb. 16-1 Held up mid-division, ridden over 1f out, kept on same pace, 9th of 12, 8l behind Boomerang Bob at Chelmsford City 6f hcp 0-95 (3) pol in Oct. 14-1 Held up towards rear, ridden over 1f out, faded inside final furlong, 11th of 13, 5l behind Suzi’s Connoisseur at Newcastle 7f hcap (2) in Feb. 20-1 Held up in rear, took keen hold, ridden and brief effort over 1f out, soon weakened, last of 7, 6l behind Captain Dion at Newcastle 6f hcp 0-85 (4) in Jan. (28) D Kubler 9-7 .................... Josephine Gordon (13) A Balding 9-7 ................................... D Probert (13) J S Moore 9-7 .......................... L Keniry (27) M Appleby 9-5 .......................... S De Sousa (128) P Evans 9-5 ...................................... J F Egan (182) D Loughnane 9-4 .. A Mullen (14) R Harris 9-3 ................................... R Powell (112) P Evans 9-3 ............................... P Prince (3) (14) R Teal 8-12 ........................... D Muscutt (152) D Brown 8-12 ................................ T Eaves (27) C Smith 8-12 .................... N Garbutt (3) BETTING: 3 Viola Park, 9-2 Av A Word, 5 Topmeup, 7 Major Tom, 8 Georgio, Padleyourowncanoe, 10 Hold Me Tight, Millybond, 25 Others. (12) C Dore 9 9-10 (C3, D) .................. P Mulrennan (16) S Dixon 8 9-9 (C2, D3) ........... D Swift (16) J Butler 7 9-9 (C4) ................. J F Egan (42) H Morrison 4 9-7 (CD) .................. F M Berry (506) K Dalgleish 5 9-5 ..... Shirley Teasdale (5) (16) M Appleby 5 9-4 (C, D) ..... A Rawlinson (3) (27) P Evans 10 9-1 (CD) ...P Prince (3) (33) T D Barron 5 9-1 (CD) ....... Rob Hornby (482) A Carson 4 9-1 (D) ................ W Carson (112) D Shaw 4 8-10 ................... Martin Lane BETTING: 7-4 Bounty Pursuit, 6 Napoleon Solo, 7 Swilly Sunset, Elusivity, 8 Dark Profit, 10 Boots And Spurs, 12 Macho Mac, Greyfriarschorista, 14 Others. D Brown 3 8-10 .............................. T Durcan (27) A Balding 3 8-10 ............................ D Probert G Swinbank 3 8-10 ............... N Farley M Appleby 3 8-10 ................................. S De Sousa (14) A Bailey 3 8-10 ......................... J Haynes (54) E Vaughan 3 8-10 .. S Donohoe (220) J R Jenkins 3 8-5 ............ Gina Mangan (7) (14) J Osborne 3 8-5 ...... Josephine Gordon BETTING: 7-4 He’s A Lad, 7-2 Clock Chimes, 4 Whosyourhousemate, 6 Secret Salvage, 8 Stragar, 12 Last Chance Paddy, 33 Sunovarebel, 66 Melo Magic. (64)ABalding69-11 (7) D C Griffiths 8 9-8 (149) K Dalgleish 4 9-7 (D) (16) M Appleby 10 9-4 (CD3) (36) G Swinbank 4 9-4 (BF) (22) S A Harris 7 9-2 BETTING: 6-5 The Lock Master, 11-4 Go George Go, 5 Priors Brook, 8 Storm King, 10 Falcon’s Fire, 25 Order Of Service.