Tight for time today. I haven’t got any runners today, and not much later in the week. I was very impressed with Achilles of Troy yesterday – Winker Watson may go head to head with him in the Coventry which looks like a decent challenge.
I’ve gone through the cards, and hard to find anything compelling to bet on. Amanda Perrett has three interesting entries – Nosferatu and John Terry at Windsor and Welsh Cake at Warwick. I would have bid for Nosferatu in the October HIT but he was pulled out of the sale and I think he was retained – I guess it’s negative that they (Lady Clague) tried to sell him but positive that they changed their minds. He’s lightly raced – it may mean he’s lightly trained and will need the run so I’ll pass, but he’s a lovely horse. Welsh Cake has a great chance but the price is on the short side – Tom Dascombe runs the (badly drawn) Miss Wedge in the same race and I may have a few pence on her.
John Terry has run his best races fresh and might be the one to go with. He’s been gelded since last season, and this may benefit him as he’s thrown races in the past through lack of focus. It’s an interesting race, and includes Ballinteni, an ex Godolphin horse who went through the February sales and ended up with David Simcock, a trainer I like. I was at that sale and I checked Ballinteni out – he had a deformed foot and some other problems, but he clearly has talent and it will be interesting to see what Simcock can make of him. I’ll stick with JT though as he’s a decent price.
In the 3.40 at Warwick I like Chiff Chaff. Michael Bell is at his best with these staying types and Chiff Chaff looks like a progressive type who will stay the distance nicely.