Makanah on target in Beverley Bullet?
The Julie Camacho stable can make it two successive wins in the William Hill Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes tomorrow – this year with Makanah.
While the veteran Judicial did have the option of trying to win the race back-to-back, the rain in recent days tipped the scales in favour of Makanah. As a son of Mayson, he relishes the mud and he is an improving sprinter in his own right. A winner at Newmarket just after racing resumed, he then went close in a big handicap behind Phil Makin’s Lahore at York.
More recently, he was narrowly touched off at Haydock by Mountain Peak when he was giving weight away to the whole field, so now looks the time to make the step up to Listed company.
There is enough pace in the race to suit the keen-going type, and he will be coming home stronger than most.
William Haggas had a few in the five-day entries for the William Hill Silver Cup, but relies on just Ilaraab in the small but select field.
By sire of the moment Wootten Bassett, Ilaraab was unraced as a juvenile but is making up for lost time.
Sent off an unconsidered 33-1 chance on debut behind the highly-regarded Sunray Major, he finished only seventh of 10.
Haggas often sends his inexperienced horses north in the hope of some easy pickings – and so it proved again as Ilaraab went to Thirsk to break his maiden, the only surprise being he was allowed to go off at 8-1. It was Wolverhampton next, when he stepped up to almost 10 furlongs to defy a penalty with the minimum of fuss.
Haggas would have been pleasantly surprised to see the colt given an opening mark of 84, and he can bring up his hat-trick.
Ralph Beckett probably thought he had found a wining opportunity for Storm Dreamer when he declared him for Catterick earlier this month. He might well have won an ordinary novice race for the track, but on this occasion he came up against runners from John Gosden and Saeed bin Suroor’s yards.
Storm Dreamer nonetheless showed enough in finishing third to suggest he is up to winning the first division of the William Hill Extra Places Every Day EBF Novice Stakes -and plenty by his sire Oasis Dream act with cut in the ground.
Mark Johnston’s Asdaa should go well in the William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed
Handicap. He was declared for Chepstow’s abandoned meeting on Wednesday, so has been saved that long journey and instead finds himself closer to home.
Last time out at Chester he stumbled on leaving the stalls, which meant he was immediately on the back foot – never a good thing on that unique, tight track.