The cost of getting a horse to the races is constantly on the up so you can forgive connections for running their horses locally. Sometimes it’s noteworthy when a horse gets sent on a particularly long journey and that’s the case at Newcastle on Tuesday.
Charles Hills is yet to have a runner at the track in 2024 so it could be significant that he sends one runner on the 585-mile round trip from his Lambourn base. We’ve assessed the horse’s chances and connections won’t want to come home empty-handed. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Jodhpur Blue wasn’t given too hard a time when finishing fifth on debut at Salisbury, which was probably a wise decision. He lost a shoe and stumbled slightly so it’s easy to forgive that effort. Hills’ three-year-old was dropped down to 6f next time and kept on despite being a tad outpaced. Going back up in trip is likely to help on that evidence and his dam won over an extended 1m5f.
There are some interesting sorts in opposition here, including Charlie Johnston’s Bamburgh who doesn’t look far away from getting off the mark. Richard Fahey’s Parthenopaeus has been beaten a neck and half-a-length in his two starts and is likely to be on the premises again. The Coolmore partners and Roger Varian are represented by debutant Trident, who probably needs to go under consideration.
Improvement will be needed if Jodhpur Blue is to get off the mark here but he’s lightly raced enough to suggest he’s entitled to find some. Even if today isn’t the day, he could be one for handicaps further down the line and should be winning races soon.
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