DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
THURSDAY OCTOBER 1
3.20 BELLEWSTOWN
EL FONTANARO didn’t perform too badly on her return to action at Cork two days ago and with connections clearly keen on keeping the daughter of The Irish Rover honest, the quick turnaround can be rewarded to the max.
Jarlath Fahey’s inmate has only scored once in 21 starts but she has been way more consistent in recent times and following two near misses, her patience was finally rewarded at Cork back in July.
Off the track until returning to the Mallow venue last time out, the combination of lack of match fitness, a low draw and facing the strong headwind down the middle of the track all played a part in her not quite seeing out her race but even so, finishing a close-up fifth in large field was still a commendable effort.
Unlucky in this race last season when receiving no daylight behind eventual winner Steel Magnolia, the four-year-old arrives here in decent shape in her bid to right those wrongs.
EL FONTANARO – 1-point win@5-2
6.00 NEWCASTLE
PEACEFUL WARRIOR blew any chance he might have had at Chester last time out by lurching badly coming out of the stalls and he is afforded another chance on his first attempt on the all-weather.
Kevin Ryan’s inmate had gone into his latest assignment following an inexplicably poor effort at York when blasting off far too quickly and falling into a hole, but as events panned out on the Roodee, missing the kick and finding himself detached by halfway, actually worked in his favour, enabling him to regain his confidence passing horses inside the final two furlongs.
Hopefully that more pleasant experience 19 days ago will serve him well in today’s contest and he has been chalked up at the kind of price that is tempting even for the most vehement of pessimists.
The other who arrives here via an eye-catching effort at Chester is KENTUCKY RAIN and she deserves to be played accordingly.
Lemos De Souza’s filly was a little caught on heels as the gates crashed back on the Roodee just over a month ago and, as a result, she was forced to race wider than ideal throughout the first three furlongs.
Turning for home she was pushed even further out off the inside rail and in the end, the ground she forfeited to the first three – who all scuttled around the paintwork – proved a bridge to far.
She did, however, keep on well enough to suggest she could be one to consider for nurseries further down the line and she gets the opportunity to back up that theory over a trip and track that should suit (won over a stiff five at Beverley earlier in the season).
PEACEFUL WARRIOR – ½ point win@7-1
KENTUCKY RAIN – ½ point win@4-1