Friday 24th October
Tides Reach held on by a short head at Kempton last night with a typically good ride from George. She went the shortest route all the way around, and dug deep to win. That is her second win of the year, and third in total.
Libbard runs at Doncaster on her debut. She is a Galileo filly from the family of Pounced. It appears to be one of the hotter maidens, which is not surprising, given there aren’t many other maidens left on turf, and the ground is close to being good at Doncaster. The two in the race that stand out on form are Star of Seville and Yarrow, with Dreamlike the likely improver, being a half sister to Silk Sari. I hope Libbard runs with promise, but she will be at her best as a staying filly next year.
Scooner steps up to a mile at Newbury on ground, which will be very sticky. He ran on ok at Kempton on debut, and I hope that he can improve in what is a typically interesting Newbury maiden. It will be intriguing to see how Miracle Ninetynine runs, having finished behind Lady Rothschild’s Mccreery first time, in a race that is working out well.
Copperopolis runs in the second division of the mile maiden. This would appear to be the weaker of the two, with little form on offer from those that have run previously. The Hannon and Beckett horses are well bred. Copperopolis is going to need further than his brothers, Liberty Jack, Major Jack and Trader Jack and i hope to see him staying on well at the end. Copperopolis was once the nickname of Swansea, due to its copper production industry, and is a city close to the owner’s heart, especially the football team.
Pageant Belle
Pageant Belle runs in the mile handicap before she heads to the sales next week. She is in good form, and looks well, but this is the first time she will have encountered ground like this on a racecourse, having only raced on fast ground, when not on the Polytrack. I hope she can run a good race and give her enthusiastic owners a good time.
Lady Tyne
Lady Tyne returns to the course where she has run her two best races, once in winning her maiden, this time last year, and also to be beaten only 4 lengths behind Silk Sari in a listed race in August of this year. She relished the ground she will have today when winning her maiden last year and I hope that she can show her true form.