Don McCain rarely goes without a
winner when sending horses on the short trip to Bangor, a course which was
favoured by his legendary father before him, and it will be a surprise if he
has to wait long to add to the burgeoning list of McCain family winners at the charming
Welsh track. The opening contest at 13:30 sees him saddle Blackwater King in a race where the respective handicappers at
Timeform and the BHA take wildly differing views. The BHA assessor was so impressed by Golden
Hoof’s defeat of Lord Protector and Beckhani at Sandown in December, that he
awarded the Oscar gelding a lofty mark of 135, and when he contested the Grade
1 Tolworth Hurdle over the same C&D last time, he was the highest rated
horse in the contest. Timeform were less impressed by the Sandown win, noting
that the race was run at no more than a crawl, and that Golden Hoof merely had
too much toe for a couple of plodding stayers. Subsequent results suggest the
truth is closer to the latter analysis, with Golden Hoof readily outclassed in
the Tolworth, and his earlier victims not doing a great deal to boost the form
subsequently. Golden Hoof has been dropped 5 lb, but is still considered to be
almost a stone superior to McCain’s runner by the BHA, which looks at odds with
the evidence of the racecourse to date, as Blackwater
King was an excellent second to Renoyr in a handicap at Doncaster last
time, and the winner has run well in a better race at Wetherby in recent days.
Timeform, in fact, reckon that far from being inferior to his chief rival, Blackwater King is actually a better
horse to the tune of 8 lbs, and yet is receiving weight from Golden Hoof, who
has a double penalty to carry. I do have a slight concern about the selection’s
tendency to race freely, and he didn’t see things out as well as Renoyr having
tanked along last time, but I expect him to be too good for the topweight on
today’s terms, and he should be the one trading at Evens, and not the other way
around. Either way, there is plenty of professional pride to be won and lost,
making this one of the most intriguing contests of the whole day.
The 14:35 is another interesting
novice hurdle featuring leading hunter My Flora, who has moved to McCain from
Sheila Crow for a hurdling campaign, but she was rather disappointing on her
first try over the smaller obstacles, and is passed over now. Midnight Appeal
is another who has done well as a chaser, and will be popular here given his
creditable third in the Grade 2 Bristol Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham in
December. That contest has lost some of its lustre since, however, with
Coneygree losing his unbeaten record and runner-up Aerial running a poor race
at Musselburgh last weekend. Dungeel appears the McCain first-string, and is
respected, but the one who makes most appeal is the unexposed O’Faolains Boy, who I had the pleasure
of seeing in the flesh at Chepstow on Welsh National day. A rangy, chasing type
in appearance, he jumped well in a dispute of the lead, and didn’t need to be
asked any serious questions to pull away from his rivals in the straight for a
comfortable win. He’ll stay 3m on that evidence (bred to do so in any case), and
looks open to more than average improvement. Patrick Corbett takes over from A
P McCoy, and the partnership look rock solid to my eyes.
Recommended Bets:
Back Blackwater King in the 13:30 Bangor
@ [2.70] (NAP)
Back O’Faolains Boy in the 14:35 Bangor @ [3.60] (NB)
No comments:
Post a Comment