One day to go until the Chester May meeting but, until then, we have to satisfy ourselves with some low grade fare from Brighton and Catterick. I’ve decided to take one bet from Catterick but, before I do, I’d also like to give a shout out to the form of the Chris Dwyer / Silvestre De Sousa combo. They are 5 from 5 when teaming up in the last week and they have 1 tomorrow in the 2.50 at Brighton; Commanche is the horse in question and is trading at 8/1. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite make the cut so I couldn’t recommend it as a bet but I certainly wouldn’t put any of our readers off.
7.25 Catterick
A Class 4 0-80 handicap around the tight 7 furlongs at Catterick, with 11 likely to be in opposition The first thing to note is that Catterick is a sharp track that is always on the left hand turn and, ideally, low drawn prominent types are the ones to be on. So, what of the market leaders? Favourite Treat, Gurkha Friend and Taysh are all battling it to be favourite and they are drawn in 3 of the 4 outside stalls. That certainly isn’t ideal for any of them but all 3 do have claims. Favourite Treat won last time out but has a 4lb higher mark to overcome and is stepped up in grade whilst Gurkha Friend is hard to win with but a repeat of his effort at Hamilton should see him in the frame. I’d be slightly concerned that the jockey does too much with him early doors in a bid to get a position. Taysh finished 2nd here on his last run; that was in a better race but he’s no certainty to follow up off 2lb higher.
The one that interests me the most is top weight Spryt. He can front run but is equally adept at sitting just off the pace and has a lovely draw in stall 4. He is fit from a run on the all-weather where he finished down the field but had the worst of the draw and was bustled up to lead from the off. He has won only 1 of his 18 career starts but he’s not without ability and looks the type to make up into a decent 4 year old. The key is the drying ground, the trip and the assistance of stronger holding, now he isn’t being apprentice ridden.
Since winning his maiden last summer, Spryt has had excuses. He had twice run well since finishing 3rd in a higher grade at York and 2nd on the all-weather at Wolverhampton. I can forgive his form in the 5 other races; either a mile (too far), soft ground or a poor draw has been to blame. Even though he won his maiden over a mile, it was only a 4 runner race and his stamina wasn’t tested. On each run, Spryt has been one of the last off the bridle and he really needs strong handling at the business end of the race. The weather forecast looks good and I’m hoping the ground dries out significantly. Add to that a stable in form (4 winners, 2 placed from 7 runners in May) and Spryt looks to be overpriced here.
Tips
Back Spryt (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 9.00 with William Hill (1/5 odds 1-3 BOG)
Back it here:
