IN SUMMARY: John Gosden’s 340,000gns purchase, Dommersen, left his disappointing 2yo debut behind when winning a 7f Lingfield maiden last month and, with signifcant further improvement possible, is of obvious interest now switched to a handicap. However, he could be worth opposing with BALLARD DOWN (3/1), who shaped with considerable promise when fourth in a big field on his seasonal reappearance at Ascot 18 days ago, where he made excellent headway to challenge from off the pace and only succumbed in the closing stage. Status Quo doesn’t have the typical profile of a Sir Mark Prescott-trained 3yo handicap debutant but still has plenty of potential to build on his 2yo maiden win. Pirate’s Treasure flopped on good to soft turf on his latest outing but may resume his earlier progress back on the AW.
1 Ballard Down – Just held on to win Kempton maiden (1m, AW) in December, his second start, and made very pleasing turf/handicap debut when fourth in big field at Ascot (1m, good to firm) this month; 2lb higher here but this race looks less competitive and he needs to be taken very seriously.
2 Winter Rose – Comfortably won Kempton maiden (7f, AW) last summer but didn’t make any further progress on three subsequent turf starts over that trip; gave decent account when midfield in valuable nursery on latest outing but probably needs to find something extra over new trip here.
3 Dommersen – Bought for 340,000gns as a yearling; too green to do himself justice on sole 2yo start but bagged Lingfield maiden (7f, AW) when back in action last month; that form is working out quite well and he’s open to any amount of further improvement in handicaps.
4 Pirate’s Treasure – Three AW handicap wins this year, two over 1m on Fibresand and the other over C&D; has a point to prove after running poorly on good to soft turf last month but it’s impossible to rule out a resumption of progress back on artificial surfaces.
5 Status Quo – Improved to win 7f course maiden in September, his third start; not as stoutly bred as a typical Sir Mark Prescott-trained horse, but no surprise if he does well in 3yo handicaps like so many others from the stable before him.
6 White Shaheen – Probably didn’t need to improve to win run-of-the-mill Southwell maiden (7f, AW) on last month’s seasonal reappearance and could only manage a midfield finish when back on turf for handicap debut at Doncaster (1m, good); not yet fully exposed but needs to up his game.
7 Winged Dancer – Came good with comfortable win in Kempton handicap (1m, AW) in January and finished second over C&D a fornight later; not in same form on last couple of outings, though, and some of the others have more obvious potential.
8 Jintshi – Gained convincing win in five-runner C&D maiden in February, his third start, but has found things much tougher in three subsequent handicaps; may not have been suited by soft turf on last couple of occasions but still has some questions to answer.
9 Albert Boy – Has shown his best form on slow turf, most notably when winning Redcar maiden (1m1f, heavy) last month; can’t take advantage of lower AW mark from 7lb out of the handicap today and needs to bounce back quickly from a disappointing effort at Ripon nine days ago.
myracing Forecast Prices: 7/4 Dommersen, 5/2 Ballard Down, 4/1 Status Quo, 10/1 Winter Rose, Pirate’s Treasure, White Shaheen, 12/1 Jintshi, 16/1 Winged Dancer, 25/1 Albert Boy