Galatian Noses Ahead At Kempton

Back on the polytrack saw a return to form for Galatain, as under a strong ride from George Baker, he just held on to win by a nose in the finale at Kempton last night. The horse has had a lot of problems with his feet which have stopped him from fulfilling his full potential and these issues seem to affect him more on turf, with the level nature of an artificial surface seeming to give him more confidence. He should not go up too much in the handicap and having won off a five pound higher mark back two years ago, he should remain competitive, even if he does not return to his best. With the tapeta at Wolverhampton looking to ride well when it opened on Monday, it does give him a few more options.

Stable star Master Carpenter has been declared for the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes at Salisbury but the drying ground is a concern, as he is certainly more effective on a softer surface, especially over a mile. Options are a tad limited with his three pound penalty for winning in France and it is frustrating Salisbury missed most of the remnants of Hurricane Bertha so Rod will walk the track to see if it is suitable. It is a very competitive race, as befits the excellent prize money on offer and Yuften certainly looks like he will be hard to beat but Master Carpenter keeps on improving and he certainly has each-way chances once again.

Taws would also benefit from soft ground but her last two efforts on a sound surface have been solid and she was badly hampered by Sebastian Beach at Sandown and stopped her from finishing a clear second. She is one pound better off and the very long straight at Salisbury will suit so she has every chance off a light weight under Andrea Atzeni.

Dance Bids For National Hunt Success

Our only hurdler in training Dance goes to Newton Abbot, her fifth consecutive run at one of our local tracks and she has her usual solid each-way chance in the 2m6f handicap hurdle. Unfortunately the handicapper gave her a rather harsh opening mark of 90 and although she ran a cracker to finish third on handicap debut, it was a very weak ladies race and she then got put up 3lbs to 93. She always tries hard, placed on eight of her sixteen starts under both codes but the handicapper has her stuck. Hopefully the step up to 2m6f will suit and it does not look the strongest of races, perhaps today is the day she gets off the mark.

We also have a couple of runners at Kempton (Dylan Centenary is a non-runner). Triple Chief paid for running above himself when second at Warwick on his second run which meant he got a very high handicap mark and has not found life easy. A good effort when third stepped up to ten furlongs last time suggests he is going in the right direction. Hopefully he settles in this small field today and he should not be too far away if he does.

Galatian was very disappointing back on turf last time, but it is likely that he just will not let himself down on the turf anymore. He is back at Kempton, a repeat of his second over a mile there a month ago should see him go close, if he is on a going day!

Biotic Back On The Winning Trail

It was a slightly frustrating few days before Biotic got us back on the winning trail at Sandown on Wednesday evening, the tall son of Aqlaam needing every yard of the seven furlongs to get up on the line. While a record of two wins, two seconds and a third as a three-year-old is solid, we have been disappointed with his progress this year. His homework is very strong, he shows plenty of speed but has not really shown that on the track so far. However, it looks likely that he may well need further to be seen at his best and as long as he is not too keen in his races, he should progress well beyond his current mark of 63, especially as he still has plenty of strengthening up to do.

We also had plenty of seconds, Taws ran a cracking race to finish second to a Sir Mark Prescott hotpot in Deauville Dancer at Nottingham and she showed she can handle a fast surface but will need extreme trips. She will be winning again in the right races. Galatian missed the break at Kempton which cost him victory from stall 1, when angled wide he stayed on extremely well. It appears an AW surface suits him best with his foot problems but opportunities are not so frequent in the summer months. While Eugenic atoned for a slightly disappointing effort at Lingfield when second at Salisbury four days later. Despite his breeding, it appears that he is most effective at eight to ten furlongs!

Galatian Down To Class 6 Company

It is a shame to see Galatian racing in Class 6 grade as we had such high hopes for him after a progressive three-year-old campaign but serious foot problems have stopped him from progressing and he has been rarely seen in recent years. He made a promising comeback when seventh, beaten just two lengths, in a stronger race at Kempton before disappointing on the turf at Leicester. We feel that with his feet issues, an AW surface is what he needs nowadays. His last win came off a mark of 72, so off 65 with Pat taking off seven pounds as well he should go close.

Galatian's older brother also runs at Kempton and despite being ten-years-old Masai Moon is actually rated higher! The veteran has had a cracking career, winning EIGHT races and nearly £75,000 in prize money and although he dropped down the ratings, returned to form on the fibresand this winter. He has not run quite so well for Pat on the polytrack at Kempton but used to have good form at the Sunbury venue (career best RPR101) so could go close if everything goes well.

Eugenic has taken a long time to get the hang of racing but finally came good when landing an apprentice contest at Salisbury ten days ago. That came off a mark of 50 and has gone up 4lbs to 54 but as it is an apprentice race, he can run without a penalty at Lingfield today. However, there were no suitable races over a mile and he is forced to step up to ten furlongs. While he looked as if he would stay last time, his pedigree suggests he should be a sprinter, so that has to be a concern. If staying and handling Lingfield, he has each-way claims. 

Back At Sunny Southwell

It's nice to have a couple of runners on the fibresand at Southwell, a surface which our horses tend to enjoy and the 465 mile round trip normally provides the yard with some prize money. Both Madame Kintyre and Blunos are having their first experience of the fibresand and while you can never be certain that they will handle the unique surface, especially the kickback, we are hopeful both can run well.

Madame Kintyre missed a very good opportunity at Bath when the weighing room flooded and this is the first race she has actually got in for over a month which has been extremely frustrating as she has been in good form on her most recent starts. Her dam Chorus loved the fibresand surface at Southwell and her half-sister Ishi ran up to her best when tried on the surface, so it should suit. It's a shame she is so wide in fourteen, although that is preferable to being stuck on the dead rail up the inside. A mark of 51 is still workable (has useful form in the 60s) and she should put up a good show and as long as she handles the fibresand, she should have a profitable winter on the surface.

Blunos shaped nicely on his third start at Windsor but has been very disappointing in two handicap outings at Wolverhampton. That surface has received a lot of criticism in recent weeks and rightly so, the mix of fibresand on top of polytrack is causing an inconsistent surface that a lot of horses don't seem to be handling. Hopefully that is the reason why he has run so badly the last twice but he has dropped to a mark of 50, this looks a very weak race and it will be disappointing if he isn't in the three.

We have been very quiet on the runners front recently but Galatian shaped much better when third on his most recent start. He has had a lot of issues with his feet but if his confidence builds, he is very well handicapped off 68 (last win off 72) and should do well this winter. Unfortunately, there are no opportunities at Kempton in the next few weeks, which is the AW track that will suit him best but hopefully there will be lots of races in the New Year.