“Mark Droppers” to Track  —  03/10/2023

@lovestheraces

Ring Of Gold 70 Kempton/AW — 
68 (-2) Ring of Gold is still winless on the turf yet he’s 3/15 on the AW, 2 of those wins came at Kempton over 7F. Still 1lb above his last win mark, but he was “placed” multiple times on the AW, off 71–72OR earlier this year. Wait for his AW campaign. 

Red Mirage 81 AW Campaign — 
78 (-3) Patiently waiting for his AW campaign, surely he’s well handicapped now. A break may do him good now, to freshen him up for the AW season. 

Dakota Gold 97 Coral Sprint — 
94 (-3) The Coral Sprint is next Saturday (14/10/2023), and I’d say ‘Project Coral Sprint’ has been well underway these last few weeks. After another no show, Dakota Gold now finds himself 6lb’s below the mark of 100 he ran off in this race last year. Coincidentally the same rating as his last winning mark (100).

Indian Creak 92 Windsor (clear non-trier) — 
90 (-2) 5 of Indian Creak’s 8 wins have come at Windsor. In fact 5 of his last 6 wins have come at Windsor. He’s already won 3 times this season, with his last win coming from a mark of 87, so he may need some extra help from the handicapper. But, if he’s getting 2lb’s back for a ride like last time, it won’t take long. He was a clear non trier. The jockey’s drive to the course would’ve required more effort. 

Geremia 84 Upped In Trip, Down in Grade  — 
83 (-1) For me there was 3 major eyecatchers in the Cambridgeshire: 

• Carolus Magnus, who was given an absolute stones of a ride (already in our mark tracker). He was left alone on a mark of 84 – technically 1lb below what he ran off on Saturday. 
• Oviedo, who was shafted by the low draw, and didn’t help his own chances by drifting across the track like a lilo left to sail at sea. Raised 2lb’s.
• Geremia, who was the horse most affected by Oviedo’s antics. George Rooke had to check his run a couple of times in the final furlong and dropped a few places because of this. He was also drawn fairly low in 7, and had he not had his run checked, he probably would’ve finished 2nd from the low drawn runners. Dropping him 1lb seems fair, but most of his winning runs have been over further in lesser grade, so he might well be on a winning mark when upped in trip and dropped in grade. Also has a fair AW record, so this could also be an avenue for him later this year, and early into next.

Lord Riddiford 91 Glorious Goodwood 5F 2024 — 
90 (-1) If Lord Riddiford’s campaign isn’t obvious by now, then I’m not sure any handicapper’s campaign ever will be. Wait for the 2024 5F Glorious Goodwood handicap. With any luck we’ll get a decent priced winner, 4 years in a row🎺🎺🎺

Thankuappreciate 74 Cut 6F Down in Grade — 
73 (-1) Thankuappreciate ran the typical “needs further” race. Slowly away, niggled along pretty much from start to finish, the rider drawing the whip early, and then he ends up sticking on best into 3rd. Which looked an impossible task a furlong in. He seemed to relish the soft ground, but if you’re slowly away, and then can’t go the gallop at a track like Chester you’ve no chance. Especially when a front runner like Democracy Dilemma gets away from you. You could argue he had a dream run up the rail (in the straight), but I’m still shocked he passed the majority of the field. I’d say a good to soft/soft 6F’s, down in grade could be right up his street. He hasn’t been with Declan Carroll long, so they may spend some more time working out exactly what he wants conditions-wise. But, even this season he was competitive off marks of 79 and 80 so he should be fairly well handicapped.

Pocket The Packet 67 AW 6-7F — 
65 (-2) I was disappointed with Pocket The Packet’s dismal run back on the AW, but I think there are a couple of excuses. Firstly, he was very weak in the market, which at Cl5 level is rarely a good sign. I believe he was 12/1 in the morning of the race, and SP’d 25/1. It’s also worth noting Tinkler’s current dismal form: the yard haven’t had a winner in the past 39 days (54 runners). For these reasons I’m willing to keep Pocket The Packet tracked for the AW (as long as Tinkler’s yard are back in the winners, when he next runs).

Golden Warrior 58 6F Dundalk — 
55 (-3) I’ll have earnt back the “bollocks” I lost antepost on Reach, by the time this lad sees some sand. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten about him by then.

Afterlife 71 7F AW Campaign — 
68 (-3) That’s a big drop considering his run at Chester, keep him tracked for an AW campaign, because of the reasoning in the 19/09/2023 Mark Tracker.

Highwaygrey 70 Firm 10F — 
68 (-2) Highwaygrey has been frustrating. Mainly because it seems even in races i thought he’d go well in, he has been given shocking rides. Unless what Allan did was intentional last time out, it was an absolute stones of a ride. It had intended ‘mark dropper’ written all over it: slowly away, penned in on the rail, before getting blocked in/gaps closed, and then sticking on late under a tame ride. I’d ideally like to see the word firm in the going somewhere to bet him at Redcar this Saturday, but he should be taking advantage of a mark this low, in Cl5 company— if allowed to.