IN SUMMARY: The withdrawal of Shrewd has left this wide open for SBRAASE (5/2). James Tate’s 5yo has been quite lightly raced in recent years but wasn’t beaten far in a competitive Class 2 event over C&D earlier in the month, can be relied upon to give his running and ought to be too strong for today’s rivals. Bayan Kasirga has enjoyed a productive few months but the handicapper might have his measure now and a bigger threat to the selection could come from Brandon Castle ,who is not straightforward and has some questions to answer, but is on a workable mark.
1 Shrewd – Non-runner
2 Sbraase – Quite lightly raced in recent years but earns good marks for consistency and didn’t get the best of runs when very respectable fifth in Class 2 event over C&D this month, his second run since a long absence; 1lb lower in an easier race today and expected to pose a potent threat.
3 Yul Finegold – Has bagged a couple of Fibresand claimers (1m3f/1m4f) since the autumn but finished down the field in handicaps on last two outings (Tapeta/Polytrack), and is probably still too high in the weights to win a race of this nature.
4 Full Day – Placed off today’s mark in valuable event at Newmarket (2m2f, good to soft) in September but failed to win last year and Flat strike-rate stands at just 1-20; back from 173-day absence today and will probably find 1m4f here too sharp.
5 Brandon Castle – Often pulls hard in the early stages and needs to up his game after two moderate runs this year, but may not have handled Fibresand on first occasion and probably wasn’t suited by the way the race panned out last time; went very close off 2lb higher mark over C&D in November and that piece of form brings him into the equation.
6 Idol Deputy – Gained three course wins during the main AW season and, although he’s climbed the weights, his current mark is probably not beyond him; however, his latest run was a shade disappointing and he has stamina to prove over today’s trip.
7 Bayan Kasirga – Three C&D wins since the autumn and presumably failed to handle Fibresand when well beaten on latest outing three weeks ago; will be happier back on this surface but is up in class today and probably has little margin for error off current mark.
myracing Forecast Prices: 7/4 Sbraase, 3/1 Bayan Kasirga, 4/1 Brandon Castle, 8/1 Full Day, Idol Deputy, 10/1 Yul Finegold