Spinatrix on course to star in the top ten
TEN course winners line up for today’s William Hill Great St Wilfrid but few have stronger claims than the admirable SPINATRIX (Ripon, nb, 3.30).
Runner-up in the prestigious handicap 12 months ago, the Diktat mare (below) has assembled a terrific set of statistics at the Yorkshire track with nine starts yielding outstanding figures of 1,2,3,2,3,1,1,2,2. That i mpressive sequence advertises the selection’s consistency and, although she has yet to truly fire this term, a return to her favourite venue could be the catalyst to a bold showing.
A couple of quieter performances this season have seen the assessor show Spinatrix a little leniency and this is very much her time of year.
There was plenty of rain in the region yesterday which would aid her challenge and she looks to have been saved for a tilt at the Class 2 prize by her in-form handler Michael Dods, who has saddled seven winners in the past fortnight.
Gregorian won the Betfred Hungerford Stakes in style last term but has had a busy time of late and might be worth taking on even if he is defending an unbeaten record at Newbury. He failed to show much in Deauville on heavy ground last Sunday, so the likes of BRETON ROCK (Newbury, 3.50) and Chil The Kite could prove stiff opposition given that they will be fresher than most. Marginal preference is for the f o r mer who will relish the fact there was 16mm of rain at the Berkshire venue on Thursday, with the promise of further showers. David Simcock’s four- year- old has already beaten a Wokingham winner in Baccarat this term and was agonisingly edged out by Penitent at Haydock last time, when he could arguably have won granted some luck.
He needs to step up markedly on that level, but he is pretty useful with plenty underfoot and the chances are we haven’t seen the best of him as yet. NOTARISED (Chester, nap, 5.30) has proved frustrating to follow this season, but he was close to profiting from an excellent tactical ride at the Roodee two starts ago and he could gain compensation for a number of solid efforts today.
JOHN Gosden is reluctant to confirm Kingman a definite starter for tomorrow’s Prix Jaques le Marois after an inch of rain fell at Deauville in 48 hours. The Newmarket handler walked the Normandy track before his Western Hymn could only manage fourth in yesterday’s feature race, the Group Two Prix Guillaume D’Ornano. Rider William Buick reported conditions at Deauville to be testing and holding after partnering Western Hymn, leaving Gosden with food for thought. He said: ‘It’s pretty terrible ground and Western Hymn didn’t like it all. I walked the track yesterday and will do the same again before deciding whether Kingman will run.’