DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
SATURDAY AUGUST 9
2.10 ASCOT
SPIRIT MIXER (NAP) (best price 7-2) and Dancing In Paris renew rivalry from their Northumberland Plate clash back in June and Andrew Balding’s inmate can confirm his superiority in a race that saw him an eye-catching fourth last season.
The feature of this year’s Pitman’s Derby was the exceptionally strong gallop from the outset and in a race that became a proper test of stamina, the seven-year-old chestnut found the necessary reserves see off his 19 rivals and record his most notable success so far to fate.
Since that victory, the runner-up and third have both paid handsome compliments to the form, and the fact he has been given time to recover his poise in the interim probably isn’t a bad thing.
Set too much to do in this race twelve months ago, he did well to get within a length of the winner, Ranch Hand, and with one of the best lady riders around on board, the combination makes for a confident betting medium.
SPIRIT MIXER – 1-point win@7-2
3.00 HAYDOCK
If you are like many in this Group 3, a strong believer Haatem can bounce back to winning ways then HAUNTED DREAM (best price 10-1) has to come into calculations based on what happened to him during their clash at Royal Ascot two months ago.
Common knowledge has dictated if a horse gets pinned down on the inside fence at the Berkshire venue – often due to a low draw on the round track – it is a position almost impossible to overcome and that is precisely what occurred to the six-year-old grey during the latter stages of the listed Wolferton Stakes.
Turning for home going as well as any of his rivals, the son of Oasis Dream was asked to go for an ambitious run by his pilot up the inside rail but unsurprisingly, he got the door firmly slammed in his face and, as a result, it was an incident he no chance of overcoming.
Allowed to coast home from the two-furlong pole, he arrives here fresh having no been subject to a proper examination and working in the basis he might have gone extremely close to winning the Ascot race with a clear run, his morning odds, three times the price of Haatem’s, are worth taking to see whether that theory becomes reality.
HAUNTED DREAM – ½ point each-way@10-1
3.25 CURRAGH
A mixture of course regulars of a certain vintage against a bunch of up-and-coming sprinters in this competitive Group 3 and of those in the latter category, VESPERTILIO (best price 11-1) makes the most appeal at the morning odds.
A real track specialist at the Curragh, the only time in five starts she has failed to run her race was when she tackled the very best of her generation in the Irish 1000 Guineas last season but other than that blip, all her other performances have been top notch.
Settling nowadays to attend gigs over six-furlongs, Willie McCreery’s filly just got the verdict over solid guide My Mate Alfie over today’s C&D last time out and a repeat of a similar level of form should see her right in the mix.
VESPERTILIO – ½ point each-way@11-1
4.10 HAYDOCK
KODI LION (best price 7-2) came out best of those positioned in a low stall at Ascot last time out and the combination of the form working out well since and a drop in grade can see Michael Appleby’s gelding hold together his consistent profile.
As we’ve seen since, the winner, Two Tribes, was clearly a very well-treated horse at the time and won accordingly, so to only get beaten three lengths by a horse who is now rated 103 having raced on the slowest part of the track at the Berkshire venue has to go down as a career high.
First and second on his only two previous outings over today’s course (6f), he is equally dependable over an extra furlong and a good break from his low draw should offer the perfect springboard towards another solid effort.
KODI LION – 1-point win@4-1
5.05 CURRAGH
MINT MAN (best price 4-1) has been a bit of a frustrating conveyance throughout his career, but he seems to be in full working order both mentally and physically at present and following a cosy success at Naas earlier in the week, Pat Murphy’s inmate has bright prospects of further improving his win-to-run ratio.
His victory at the Kildare venue may have appeared a straightforward one at first glance but when you consider he was the only horse that day to win from a low stall (5) on the straight track, his performance deserved marking up.
Prior to that above-average display, the four-year-old left the impression he would have landed a competitive handicap over five-furlongs with anything like a clear run and with Billie Me Quick going on to boost the form at Chepstow the other night, he can also fly the flag for the same race on his return visit back over his optimum trip.
MINT MAN – 1-point each-way@4-1