DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
THURSDAY JULY 9
3.00 NEWMARKET
The Palace Of Holyrood won by American speedball, Bacio, was furlong-per-furlong one of the fastest handicaps run, of the entire Royal Ascot meeting and CALICO BLUE and STARMADE are advised as the pair to tackle today’s field in their bid to advertise the form.
The former ran a remarkable race considering he was badly drawn over towards the far side away from the main action and, as a result, his performance deserves upgrading.
On the evidence of that effort and his previous start at Sandown, a return to six-furlong – a trip he raced over three times as a juvenile – will suit, and he has every chance of following in the footsteps of Ekhtiyaar, who took this race for his stable back in 2017.
The latter finished one place behind Calico Blue towards the nearside rail, and he very much caught the eye with the way he hit the line having been a good way back at halfway.
Well fancied in many quarters for glory at the Berkshire venue considering he only landed a lowly event at Newcastle previously, he clearly justified the confidence in his direction and with the size and scope to continue to improve, Ed Dunlop’s colt, the pick of the paddock at Royal Ascot, is well worth keeping on side.
CALICO BLUE – ½ point each-way@15-2 (four places)
STARMADE – ½ point each-way@11-1 (four places)
5.05 DONCASTER
RETURN OF THE GODS shaped like might be seen to even greater advantage over further than six furlongs at Nottingham last time out and there is enough conviction in those thoughts to warrant an interest in Ed Bethell’s colt.
The speed figure Fenlander produced at the Midland venue suggested Pam Sly’s gelding was trapping along at a fair old rate of knots and under the circumstances, the son of Tasleet did extremely well to finish as close.
Held up in the rear and unable to match the pace of the winner early, he stayed on in taking fashion to finish a creditable second and considering that effort was his first run on turf, there is likely to be more improvement forthcoming.
RETURN OF THE GODS – 1-point each-way@9-2
7.03 LEOPARDSTOWN
Jamestown was always likely to be a popular choice following his excellent effort in the hugely competitive Britannia Handicap at Royal Ascot but today’s contest against the older, more established brigade could prove an even bigger test and at the prices, he passed over in favour of HARANA and PLAYIN COOL.
The former, despite being a year older, is one of the more lightly raced among the field but she arrives here having posted a career high speed figure at Ballinrobe last time out and she looks like the type who has more to offer.
Although there was some ease in the ground at the Mayo venue, she got bogged down on soft ground over today’s track the time before and it might well be that better conditions end up seeing Dermot Weld’s filly to best advantage.
Only rated 72 prior to her smooth victory 17 days ago, even her adjusted rating of 81 appears more than fair based on the data she produced, and it would be disappointing if she didn’t pose some kind of threat.
The latter is a bit more streetwise when it comes to these big-field handicaps and his third at the Curragh strongly suggests he is likely to come here ready to play ball.
Although he couldn’t get to grips with the turn of foot exhibited by the winner, Pierre Royal, at the Kildare venue, the overall time figure of the race cuts him plenty of slack and having gone well at today’s track on his two previous visits, he will be more averse to the nuances of the Dublin circuit than most.
HARANA – ½ point win@13-2
PLAYIN COOL – ½ point win@15-2