Masai Well Handicapped

While ten-year-old veteran Shavansky is in cracking form this winter, things have not worked out quite so well for fellow ten-year-old Masai Moon. After picking up an injury last spring, he has had three starts this year and lacked a bit of spark. However, the handicapper has been very generous and dropped him 11lbs in those three runs and was only beaten four lengths at Kempton last time. He returns to Southwell on Tuesday and runs in 0-60 company for the first time and he does seem more effective on the fibresand surface. His last win at the Nottinghamshire venue came off 79 and with Pat's claim, he is effectively 27lb lower. Six furlongs is a slight concern as he is getting older and the trip has always been on the sharp side but his two 2012 wins both came at the sprint distance.

Talking of Shavansky, he goes in a £19,000 handicap at Kempton on Wednesday over ten furlongs. The old boy is in cracking form and we have decided to put Andrea back on board to see if a professional can get anymore out of him. However, the tight nature of Kempton's inner track is not really ideal, eleven furlongs would have been preferable and it looks a very competitive race so it is no easy task.

It is a very busy Wednesday with Modem and Miss Tweedy in action at Lingfield. Modem has been progressive since switching into handicap company and stepped up to middle distances. He won nicely at Lingfield in first-time blinkers before improving in defeat when third off a four pound higher mark at Kempton last time out. The blinkers may have just made him a bit keen last time so we have taken them off to see if he still needs them to concentrate. It is a competitive race once again with three of his rivals on the back of a win but he's down from a 0-80 to 0-70 so should find it slightly easier than the Kempton race. Miss Tweedy shaped nicely on debut at Newbury before disappointing on her second start. She certainly has some ability but is the type to progress with time and experience and will probably find life easier in handicap company.

More 2014 Places

We are already into February and the horses continue in good form but that first winner is proving elusive. Modem ran an improved race stepped up into Class 5 Handicap company when third at Kempton on Sunday. He was a little bit keen in the early stages which may not have helped but he still fared best of those that raced prominently and the winner Asia Minor is proving extremely progressive in recent months. Modem will only improve with time and he's an exciting horse to look forward to as remains unexposed.

The following day Dance stepped up to two miles and ran a solid race, also finishing third. She probably did not see out the trip in a strongly run race, despite finishing placed in three of her bumpers. She is proving consistent and certainly deserves to win a race soon. She may revert to hurdles when the ground eventually dries out.

Icebuster was disappointing when only fifth at Southwell and probably failed to handle the surface. Although he was a tad keen and was getting a lot of kickback stuck on the inside which did not help. He has been very busy in recent months so will have a short break.

Modem Off The Mark At Lingfield

Having just been denied on his handicap debut at Lingfield two weeks previously, Modem went one better at the end of December. This Motivator gelding has enjoyed stepping up to twelve furlongs and this long striding type will do even better on a more galloping track so should continue to improve as a four-year-old.

That was our 21st winner of 2013 and the yard picked up over £165,000 during the year. Let's hope 2014 brings plenty of winners. A review of 2013 will appear on the site soon.

Handicap Debut For Modem

Motivator gelding Modem makes his handicap debut in a modest looking finale at Lingfield this afternoon and he looks to have strong claims on paper. He made a promising start to his career when third on debut at Ffos Las and improved on that when fifth in a much stronger event at Windsor. Both those races were on heavy ground and switched to the polytrack, he found a mile far too sharp when disappointing at Lingfield last time out. While it looked a weak race at the time, the winner Tasrih set a very strong pace and has since confirmed himself a useful AW performer winning off 81 and the third Sweham has won a maiden so the run wasn't quite as disappointing as it looked at the time. The handicapper has given him a mark of 69 on the turf but only 64 on the AW, which enables him to take his chance in this modest Class 6 contest. While he may well be better on soft ground, the extra half a mile should suit and hopefully blinkers will help him concentrate. However, he runs against one of our old horses Yes Chef whose extremely well handicapped, 19lbs lower than his last win and back at a more suitable trip, a big run from the talented Best Of The Best's gelding wouldn't surprise.

Weak Looking Maiden For Modem

It has been pretty quiet for the yard in recent weeks, with no runner in a fortnight as most of the Flat string are now on their winter holidays, while those that are racing on the AW through the winter are still a few weeks off a run. However, we could certainly do with a winner and it looks as if Modem has a good chance at Lingfield tomorrow.

The Motivator gelding was green on debut but showed plenty of promise when finishing third in very heavy ground at Ffos Las. He was slow to stride before making an impressive mid-race move, he looked the winner approaching the final furlong before getting tired in the ground. He improved on that effort when fifth in a much more competitive maiden at Windsor on his second start, staying on nicely at the finish. Thursday's maiden at Lingfield looks much weaker, he probably has the best form on offer already and he remains open to improvement. The potential 'fly in the ointment' is the Luca Cumani trained Bouclier, owned by the Wildenstein's and this Zamindar colt is a half brother to Beauty Pagent (RPR119) and Barocci (RPR110). While the Cumani horses normally improve for the outing, he did have a similar type win at Kempton on Tuesday evening.

Blunos returns to Wolverhampton after disappointing on his handicap debut there five weeks ago. The track was riding extremely deep on that occasion and the has tightened up since then. He ran well on his third start at Windsor and a repeat of that could see him go close in what looks a weak looking Class 6 Nursery.   

Fifth Second For Urban Dreamer

It was a successful day at Ffos Las, no winner but all four ran with credit and offered hope for future. Once again Urban Dreamer notched up another second in the nursery, he probably found the going on the soft side but he certainly deserves to win one soon. Madame Kintyre looked the likely winner entering the final furlong in the finale but got headed inside the final hundred yards. She clearly enjoyed the heavy ground and off a mark of 50 she is definitely capable of winning something similar.

On his debut, Modem shaped encouragingly, despite racing green in the early stages, he soon made up ground in the home straight before weakening in the final furlong to finish a very creditable third. Eugenic was also pretty green in the early stages and he too made up ground mid-race before getting very tired in the heavy ground.

Four At Ffos Las On Sunday

It's a busy Sunday at Ffos Las with four runners and two of them are newcomers making their first steps on the racecourse and it will be very interesting to see how they get on.

Eugenic is a Piccolo gelding that makes his debut in the opening mile maiden and this nice big sort will need time to be seen at his best. His dam Craic Sa Ceili won over a mile at two and as he isn't the sharpest sort in the world, we have decided to start him off at a mile. With experience, we expect him to want a shorter trip, more in keeping with his siblings but it's a nice starting point.

In the older horse maiden, John Deer's Modem makes his debut over a mile and he should go quite nicely on his debut and he looks to be running in a suitable race, with just five runners and three of his rivals have been seen under NH rules. He is by Motivator and does share some of his sire's quirks but he certainly has ability and should be capable of third prize at least.

Urban Dreamer has been very consistent this season, with five seconds and three thirds to his name from twelve starts but we still seek that elusive win. He ran very well when second on his nursery debut at Sandown and was chinned on the line in a CD maiden so he should be in the frame once again and represents our best chance of a winner.

It's a shame there are so many runners in Madame Kintyre's race as she has been running well in small field events at Ffos Las this year and off a career low mark of 50, she should run ok, especially as soft ground will suit but she has gone a while since her last success which is a concern as she still works well at home.

Have to make a quick mention about Dovils Duel who was a disappointing favourite at Chepstow under his six pound penalty on Thursday. With few options to run four pounds well in, raised ten for his Lingfield success, we had to go even though five could have been on the sharp side. Unfortunately, more of a problem was the soft ground, which combined with the drop back to five and Chepstow's unique undulations could have contributed to a below par effort. We're sure he will be back under more suitable conditions, although life will be harder under his new mark.