Kempton
1.35pm
J Gaye
I don’t know too much about her but she has a nice enough pedigree, for all she was cheaply bought as a yearling, which suggests this trip should suit. She looks up against it, though.
2.05pm
Big Country
He ran one of his rare lesser races at Lingfield last time, where perhaps we were in the heat of battle too early and for too long, but he has a leading chance here if back to his best. A draw in eight is probably not ideal, though. He won the Rosebery at this meeting two seasons ago, his only start at this track, and he has any number of performances since – most recently his second to Wissahickon last month – that would give him an each-way chance here. Matterhorn was very impressive when winning a course-and-distance handicap off a mark of 107 last time, and is the one to beat from stall one, but it’s a pretty deep race, with the likes of Mootasadir, even under his 5lb penalty, and Fabricate all having solid claims.
2.40pm
Gilgamesh
The handicapper has ignored his poor final run of last season on unsuitably soft ground, which is a shame, as you would have liked to have seen him dropped 1lb or two. But he is only 1lb higher than when winning over 7f at York last May, and he has run some good races in defeat since. He will need a strong pace to aim at, stepping down to 6f, but hopefully he will be sharp enough for the challenge. He ran well enough over the trip when seventh in the Wokingham, and he went well when I worked him last week.
3.15pm
Soto Sizzler
He didn’t start or finish last season particularly well but his summer exploits, notably his win at Goodwood, give him a definite chance here. He is 5lb higher here and this is his all-weather debut, but this is only his second season racing and just his eighth start, so hopefully there is a lot more to come from him. William also knows what it takes to take this race, having landed it in 2015, and he had a winner here last week, too. I could have asked for a lot better draw than 15 of 16, though.
Southwell
6.30pm
Vikivaki
She looks to have an excellent chance here. She looks the stand-out on form on her debut effort and her subsequent second at Ascot – I rode her on both occasions – and maybe we have the newcomer to worry about most. Robert seems to have his horses in good form, and hopefully Vikivaki is another winner for him and owner Tom Morley.
7.30pm
Galileo’s Spear
We will probably need luck in running from stall one in this 13-runner handicap, as we usually drop him in. But let’s see what happens on that front and hopefully the new combination of headgear suits. He has been eased slightly in the weights from his fair run here last time, and he can be competitive off this mark, though he is what he is.
8.00pm
Budaiya Fort
His winning chance here probably rests upon his third at Wolverhampton, but he was entitled to need the run over 7f at Kempton earlier in the month and was dropped 2lb for it. The step back to 6f will probably suit him better, as well.
