This was a very difficult mounting yard to assess as several of the key runners were acting very coltish and seemed to be quite distracted.
The eventual winner, Stay Inside, was one of these “distracted” horses, but his pre-race antics clearly did not affect his race performance.
Top pick Headliner did not have much luck in the running and probably should have won, finishing an honourable second.
I couldn’t split these two runners in the mounting yard, and the quinella was a smart bet with Art Cadeau winning and Water Dove running second.
Important to note Shelby Sixtysix came 3rd with bandages on. I never back/tip a horse that has bandages on until I know it can perform in them and that they are just protective.
It's also worth noting that very rarely do horses from top stables wear bandages.
Melik raced 3-wide with no cover but I still thought he was pretty disappointing when asked for an effort.
The winner First of May, didn’t stand out to me in the yard, but I expect improvement in his looks from that run. Note, Southern Appeal came 3rd with bandages on.
Despite his natural light build and that he never holds much condition, it is hard not to love The Face.
I definitely want to follow Valaquenta out of the race, who was 5-wide and clear second pick in the mounting yard.
Rule of Law fought on well into second, but was asked to do plenty of work in the run.
The winner Rocketing By was my second pick in the yard, but I didn’t have it on top because it got very warm and perspired quite heavily pre-race. I don’t know if this is usual for Rocketing By, but is important to note that it didn’t stop a good performance.
Sacramento is another horse that tends to sweat terribly pre-race but again it had no impact on his performance. He is a beautiful looking horse and he was the clear pick of the yard.
I'm not keen on watching the replay every again. The grey had no luck after being blocked for a run the entire straight and was arguably a good thing beaten. She looked her best all prep, but seems to always have bad luck!
The winner Le Lude didn’t stand out to me in the yard, but was well ridden by Rachel King who gave it the run of the race.
I struggled to split the two favourites Chat and Bandersnatch in the mounting yard.
At the good odds I went with Cradle Mountain each-way, he looked the goods but did struggle to race up to his appearance.
I had 6 runners in this race with very similar ratings from the mounting yard.
The winner Invinciano was one of those, but I couldn’t clearly identify a top pick in what was a very even race.
We finished the day with a good thing beat. Another race I'm not keen on watching again.
All Time Legend looked the best in the yard and put in a massive effort to finish third. The winner Soldier of Love raced with bandages, so important to note these didn’t impact performance.
Horses To Follow