Three meetings on a Sunday and only a couple of them are short enough to take seriously on price. That tells you the shape of the day straight away. We are leaning on horses going the right way rather than horses everyone already knows about, and the spread runs from a single runner at Cartmel right through to a full hand at the Curragh.
The Curragh is where the card holds together. Four of our nine come from there, and the two we trust most are the ones dropping into handicaps off marks that look forgiving. Antigua heads to the five furlong handicap on a lenient rating for a horse still on the way up, Ryan Moore takes the ride, and stall two is a help. The headgear did the trick at Fairyhouse when he was sent forward to a three length maiden win, and the trip is spot on. In the next race Obscenity draws stall three, which is the berth you want over this distance here, and his clock keeps quickening. He won a Gowran handicap recently and the visor goes on for the first time. He is up in grade, but everything about him says forward.
Earlier on the same card, Gazelle d’Or is worth a second look at a bigger price. She was caught by a short head at Fairyhouse and only got outstayed in the closing stride, so dropping back to the minimum trip with first-time cheekpieces should suit. The draw and the step up in class are the queries, but there is more there.
Over at Wolverhampton the prices get interesting. Shalaa Asker sets the standard in his race after a neck win at Lingfield, and the 2lb rise barely troubles him. He keeps progressing, handles any surface from five to seven furlongs, and adds a first-time tongue-tie and cheekpieces. Later on the same all-weather card, Clover Time is the one for the bold. He went too freely over further last time and emptied late, but back at a sharper trip with first-time cheekpieces and an easing mark, the pace he shows round here flatters the bare form. At the price he makes plenty of sense.
Yesterday gave us a winner when Hoseki obliged at 3.75, with Rogue Bullet filling a place at short odds. Nothing flashy, but the kind of day that keeps the ledger ticking over.
Get the Curragh pair right and the longshots can take care of themselves.