York
2.25pm
Land Of Oz
After a low-key start to his campaign at Redcar in May, when our horses clearly weren’t firing, he has been little short of a revelation in a very short space of time. He has shown tremendous improvement, and an equally good attitude, in winning his next four starts, and I thought he had a bit left in the locker when winning narrowly at Salisbury last time. Of course, he has gone up considerably for those successes – some 24lb – and meets a better class of horse here, but let’s hope the progression hasn’t stopped just yet. I do think he will rate higher than his current mark but I would have liked a bit more ease in the ground, as he stays 2m and beyond well, and the quick conditions will put the emphasis more on speed than stamina here.
Windsor
6.20pm
Big Country
He is obviously a horse I know very well, and he is a very smart one on his day, too. We haven’t seen him since March and he has had a wind-op in the meantime, so I don’t know how ready he will be here. But he is a horse who goes well fresh and this is a decent prize, so hopefully he will be plenty straight enough. At his best, he would have a very solid chance, though the 3yo Waldstern could prove troublesome and it is quite a tight race, ratings-wise, all round.
