Back Honour for Redcar glory

GLORY AND HONOUR look primed to strike on his handicap debut on the Flat in the Go Racing In Yorkshire Future Stars Apprentice Handicap at Redcar.

A decent hurdler for Tom Lacey, he did not go on to achieve what once looked likely over timber given he was quietly fancied for the Silver Trophy at Chepstow last year.

Second to a prolific winner on his next start, his form tailed off somewhat after that, and it looked as if he needed a decent surface to be seen at his best.

Sent to the sales in May, he fetched #30,000 and was bought by The Horse Watchers, a notoriously shrewd bunch who have made few mistakes in the market.

As a six-year-old, Glory An Honour clearly has plenty left in the tank but he was always likely to find the trips he has been running over on the Flat to date too sharp.

Never asked to go further than a mile having not run on the Flat before joining David O’Meara, he has subsequently been handed a mark of just 59.

Unsurprisingly he steps up markedly in trip now he is handicapping to just short of a mile and three-quarters, and he should improve markedly on what we have seen to date and he has the excellent Benoit De La Sayette on board.

James Horton’s Encourageable should find things easier in the Sky Bet Go-Racing-In-Yorkshire Summer Festival Handicap.

The three-year-old is the most unexposed runner in the field and had the misfortune to bump into subsequent German Guineas winner Maljoom, who arguably could also have won the St James’s Palace Stakes, on his racecourse debut.

He went one better at Wolverhampton with the minimum of fuss but was then stepped up to Listed grade last time out when last of six behind My Prospero.

A mark of 86 makes him look attractive on the Maljoom form at least.

Mark and Charlie Johnston’s Venetian raced promiently on his debut at Lingfield before getting caught in the shadow of the post.

He should be able to go one better in the Join Racing TV Now EBF Restricted Novice Stakes with that run under his belt.