DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
SUNDAY JULY 5
3.15 AYR
Altareq is a very talented horse at this level, but at the same time, he is becoming a little bit expensive to follow and there is more than a fair possibility Jim Goldie’s inmate will meet his match again in the shape of Irish raider THYER, who can justify the trip over the water.
Maurice Ahern’s gelding failed to make an impact in his first four starts for his new handler last season but we got more of a glimpse of his capabilities at The Curragh on his seasonal bow and the form he brings to the party on the basis of that effort would ordinarily easily be good enough to take a race of this nature.
Forced to race wide from his high draw at the Kildare venue, the son of Gleneagles came home with a fair amount of purpose inside the final two furlongs to finish a never-nearer sixth and on the evidence of that display and his overall profile, today’s step up in trip is likely to see him to even greater advantage.
THYER – 1-point each-way@6-1
5.55 SOUTHWELL
SAX APPEAL hasn’t won for a little while, but he arrives here following easily his best effort since he scored here last December and hope is high Mark Johnston’s gelding doesn’t drop the ball now confirming he is firmly back in the zone.
He had not been in the sort of form to suggest he could land the Northumberland Vase just over a week ago but refitted with blinkers after a period without no headgear, the six-year-old overrode that pre-race feeling by finishing a close-up third.
Although the big field finished in a bit of a heap at the Gosforth Park venue, the speed figure worked out better than the Plate itself and given how well the son of Saxon Warrior was keeping on in the closing stages, his performance deserves plenty of merit.
Apart from one uncharacteristically modest run, his form figures at today’s venue reads 121231 and with the headgear retained, he is fancied to keep those excellent stats intact.
SAX APPEAL – 1-point win@10-3