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It’s no short journey from Roger Varian’s Newmarket yard to Hamilton up in Scotland. It’s a 710-mile round trip and certainly one not to be taken lightly. Varian’s record at the track so far this season indicates that he doesn’t send his horses all that way for no reason. He has five winners from his seven runners and is set to send another two on Monday. The bookies haven’t missed either of his runners and both are favourites at time of writing. You can check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Classic Times (5-2, William Hill) makes her second handicap start here and her trainer’s 71 per cent strike-rate at the track bodes well. She has had just four starts so far, showing promise in all but one of them. The switch to handicaps made a huge difference last time out and she bolted up over a mile at Salisbury.
Coping well with the soft ground that day, the conditions here should be no problem at all. That victory certainly wasn’t missed by the handicapper who has since put her up a whopping 11lb. It would be no surprise if there was more to come still and she’s not one to take on.
Botanical (5-2, William Hill) is lightly raced and also only made his handicap debut last time out. It was a solid performance, finishing third at Ascot on much quicker ground. His sole victory came here in July and he bolted up in a novice event over an extended mile.
The next three home that day have all won since, providing an excellent boost to the form. Varian’s charge coped well with good to soft ground that day and should deal with the conditions here. There’s no doubt that the best is yet to come and he looks like the one to beat.
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