DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
TUESDAY JANUARY 6
4.45 WOLOVERHAMPTON
Three strong players in this extended mile contest based on recent data and the pick of the trio at the morning odds is undoubtedly YEHUDI.
Both First Greyed and Latin arrive here courtesy of victories over the extended 1m1f trip, with easily the best numbers achieved by the former, but the race Mark Loughnane’s gelding was involved in was also noted for its strong speed figure and a repeat should hopefully see him in the mix.
Placed on his two previous visits at the Dunstall venue over seven-furlongs, the step up in trip was furthest he had travelled in his career but the way he stayed on in the closing stages to push the well-fancied Salaria all the way down the straight suggested the son of Bated Breath would be better off staying in this lane for the foreseeable future.
Obviously, when a horse has shone in a strong run environment before and posted a career high, he could do with a similar gallop to play into his strengths, but the same can be said for the his two main market rivals and if this race goes the other way and turns into a speed test, he has the back drop of his seven furlong boot to call upon.
YEHUDI – 1-point each-way@7-1
6.00 SOUTHWELL
There is a fair chance Selenic has done well to escape with rating of just 72 following her victory at Kempton when last seen and being by Sea The Moon, tonight’s extra yardage should also suit.
However, she hasn’t been missed in the market, and the value lies at the feet of ROMANTIC SPIRIT, who not only carries a very fast time figure last time out into tonight’s contest, but she crucially has proven winning C&D form.
David Menuisier’s inmate was at the head of the peloton which carried the main bulk of the field in their bid to chase down the pace-setting Al Rufaa and in the end, doing all the donkey work took its toll late on.
She did, however, still came out of the race with a career high speed figure against her name and it has come as no surprise to see the form work out well subsequently, with the runner-up winning next time out.
Prior to that sterling effort, the four-year-old filly made all to score in determined fashion over tonight’s C&D and a repeat of her last two runs should see her bang in contention for top honours again.
ROMANTIC SPIRIT – 1-point each-way@11-2 (three places)