ASOTR Eye-catcher's

@RacingWithMike

Thursday

13:15 - Alpha Capture

I understand Munir and Souede’s Alpha Capture has captured the attention of a few people on twitter after his performance at the Leger meeting so he perhaps isn’t the most creative selection. That said, there is absolutely no denying that this is a very well handicapped animal who has somehow dropped 23lb in the handicap in 2 months, with a further drop expected as he eventually finished 8 lengths behind the winner. He was smashed in the betting and ended up going off at 9/2 despite his jockey having never won a race under rules and he was very tentatively handled to say the least. He seemed to travel into the race effortlessly and ominously under Jack Enright but simply never picked up and was notably never whipped or asked for maximum effort. There is every chance he could have been stuck in the mud but he has ran on good to soft before when winning a listed race at York and on the same ground, he was a short head behind the now 111 rated Cold Case. In January of this year he was also ¾ of a length behind Shouldvebeenaring who is now rated 113 and has placed in group 1 and group 2 contests. I can somewhat understand a small fall-off as he’s by Cotai Glory, a sire who’s progeny is seemingly just full of fast 2 year olds. For example, see The Platinum Queen, a flawless 2yo who has finished last on her sole start at 3 and Atomic Force who won 3 of his 4 races as a 2 year old, including 2 group races at Chantilly before being sold to Hong Kong and only winning 1 of his next 15 starts. After mixing it with group class horses in the last 12 months, it seems insane to me how Alpha Capture could have lost so much ability and surely he’s ready to win in handicap company soon, keep your eye on his next entry.

16:45 - Turntable

The next horse on my list wasn’t necessarily an eyecatcher in the race but was undoubtedly an eyecatcher based on the initial entry and that is Harry Eustace’s Turntable. A modest handicapper who has done the bulk of his winning at Newmarket (4 of his 6 wins have come on the Rowley Mile with another one coming at the July course), it was interesting to see him entered at the only other course he’s ever won at, Doncaster. It also caught my eye that this was his first time running over 1m4f given he looks a bit of a 1m1f specialist so my initial impression was that he was just running to get his mark dropped before another crack at one of the two races he won last Autumn. Being by Pivotal, he should definitely handle a bit of dig in the ground but he has only managed to finish 10th and 11th in both starts where the ground was strictly soft and based on that evidence, if he was trying to win this day, it was a bit risky to attempt a first start over a longer trip in rain-softened ground. On the one occasion he ran on heavy ground, he was 4th at his beloved Newmarket off a low mark of 77. His overall form on the Rowley Mile when the ground has been GS or better reads 112110 with two of those wins being in the exact same 1m1f race that closes the card on Rockfel day. The loss can be overlooked as this was a very tricky race won by King Of Conquest on his first start for the Eustace yard off a career high mark. Unfortunately, the horse has seemingly developed a habit of being slowly away from the stalls which definitely hinders his chances and he was held up at Doncaster before making a small bit of headway between horses when first off the bridle. When it became apparent that he wasn’t going to stay, he was carefully ridden home with a view to another day. Hopefully he’ll be dropped a couple of pounds for the effort and could make an appearance back at Newmarket in just under 2 weeks time with Kaiya Fraser claiming 5 pounds. If the yard is able to sharpen him up and stop him leaving the gates like a slug, I expect a bold showing on his next trip to the Rowley Mile now that he’s back to a mark below his last winning one. 

Friday

14:25 - Malc

Similarly to Alpha Capture, Malc probably isn’t a very inventive selection from myself as a few people will have popped him in the tracker already. The Sporting Life report literally says ‘eye catcher’ next to this horse but I think there was a lot to like about his finishing effort that is worth mentioning. All 3 of Malc’s previous efforts were on good to firm ground and he was given the green light to run here in soft ground which I’d assume he didn’t really like considering Oisin Orr was scrubbing him along early, a whole 6 seconds before any other jockey started pushing. At the furlong pole, he was stone last alongside Francis Meynell but once given his third crack of the whip, the penny seemed to drop and he rocketed home to finish 4th under hands and heels. After a relatively tame effort in the July Stakes over 6 furlongs, I was not surprised to see him entered back over 5 at Doncaster but the flourish he finished with suggested that he may be stepping up in trip again in the not too distant future. I think Malc still certainly retains graded potential and we may possibly see him once more before the season is out. Obviously he is entered in the Mill Reef and Middle Park but I think they will come up too soon for him (and he’s likely not good enough for the group 1 Middle Park). A few races I’ve earmarked for him are the Doncaster Stakes or Redcar 2 Year Old Trophy (both listed contests over 6f) or he could have the option of the Cornwallis (a 5f group 3) at Newmarket, where his owners enjoyed success last year with Maylandsea and Prince Of Pillo finishing 2nd and 3rd. 

16:45 - Raatea

A handicap selection to catch my eye in the week was Julie Camacho’s Raatea. The trainer has been enduring a torrid time lately and she is currently (at 9am on Sunday) operating at just an 11% RTF rate. In the last fortnight she has had 19 runners with 4 of them placing and the other 15 barely beating a rival home. For that reason, you can massively upgrade the performances of this horse and Significantly in the Portland. Raatea was sent off an unfancied 20/1 chance which is surprising given he was a pound lower in the handicap than when a solid 4th in the race last year on similar ground. This time round, he finished 3rd after tracking the favourite and eventual winner Baradar up the near side rail. As a general rule, I don’t think actually he likes the slop but seems to perform on it at Doncaster; both of his wins have been on good to firm ground. Strangely enough, they were also both in first time headgear (cheekpieces and hood) so keep an eye out if you see him get declared in blinkers or a visor. I can’t see the handicapper being too harsh on him for this performance and he may leave him on an unchanged mark. I would say he will be seen to best effect in those early Spring 6f handicaps at Newmarket and Haydock next year and we may see him once or twice more before the season is out to potentially drop his mark a little more.

@JMHorseRacing

Clouded Judgement

CLOUD COVER (yes my lucky 15 selection) was given an interesting ride in the 4.55 at Lingfield on Saturday. Queally decided to take her back and drop her in to the last pair, (for some reason?). She never settled and yet finished only 3 1/4 lengths from the winner (3 of the top 4 finishers were leaders/prominent) which is pretty remarkable considering her positioning and keenness. I think she’s undoubtedly better than this level, she just needs things to click. There’s probably a chance the handicapper could drop her a pound or two as well.

Brighter things ahead

SUNWAY (Champagne Stakes - Doncaster) has been one of Menuisier’s brighter sparks this season. On his second start he finished lame behind the impressive Rosallion at Ascot. Menuisier gave him some time to recover before taking up his entry in the Champagne which has looked to work the oracle. He produced a much better and bolder performance this weekend (reversing the Rosallion form easily), just ending up being caught by a pretty smart one for Hills in Iberian. I imagine he’s probably going to come on for that and there’s a chance Mr Menuisier will find a nice race (here or in France) for him to win at the back end of this season as it seems he’ll be fine of softer ground. 

Grey skies seemed to have passed

Jack Channon’s imposing, galloping grey HIROMICHI looked to have returned to form on Sunday in the 3.25 at Musselburgh. On his three previous starts he had only beaten 6 rivals combined but he swiftly overcame that form to finish a close second behind Kevin Phillipart De Foy’s improving 3yo Tulekya (receiving weight allowances). This potentially was due to two combined factors; slower ground and dropping a few lbs in the handicap. There’s a chance he’ll be given 1/2lbs for this performance but if Mr Channon can find a soft ground race at a big galloping track I believe he’s sure to run another huge race NTO.