Keep Your Head And Back Shahrazad

We can learn plenty from the mythical Queen Scheherezade, or Shahrazad, whose marriage to the formidable Shahryar didn't augur well, the King being in the habit of executing the virgins he married after just one night, such was his belief in the treachery of womankind. She managed to avoid her fate by beginning a story each evening which transfixed the King, but held off the denouement, meaning that she was allowed another chance to finish the tale. This she did for a thousand and one nights, giving us the title of that famous collection of folk tales which is also called the Arabian Nights. Quite how the queen managed to produce a trio of children during this spell is unclear, and probably none of my business.

Her equine namesake runs in the 16:40 at Windsor in search of her fourth win of the season, and it's somewhat ironic that she gained her latest win from a gelding named after another ancient ruler with uxoricidal tendencies (albeit these may have been allayed by timely castration, but I digress). With her stamina unproven, and having raced freely, it looked certain that Herod The Great would put her to the sword when looming up menacingly (you're on very thin ice with this metaphor - Ed), only for Shahrazad to hold on in most determined style.

There's no doubt that she saw the ten furlong trip out thoroughly, as one would expect given she's out of well-related Darshaan mare, and she looks capable of defying a penalty with the excellent Shelley Birkett taking over from trainer's son Jack Gilligan, for whom the Newbury effort was his first win at just the second attempt. That win for an inexperienced rider marks her out as both straightforward and thoroughly likeable, and those are traits (inherited, I'd like to imagine, from her great-great-granddam Al Bahathri, who remains my favourite Flat performer of all time) which will stand her in good stead.

An inveterate front runner, Shahrazad wasn't fazed when taken on at Newbury, and that scenario looks likely again here, with several of her rivals also tending to race on the sharp end. The selection's proven stamina gives her the edge over favourite Sinaadi, who is unraced beyond a mile, and not bred to appreciate the extra yardage of today's race. With the prospect of more to come at this trip, Shahrazad really ought to be heading the market.

The concluding handicap over an extended eleven furlongs can see a new face in the winners enclosure, as Imogen Pickard, known to all and sundry as Bundle, looks to land her first win since recently being granted a BHA licence to train under Rules. Better known for success between the flags, Miss Pickard can make it a day to remember courtesy of the improving Mister Fizz. The son of Sulamani caught a tartar in the shape of the well supported Bohemian Rhapsody at Ffos Las early this month, but the pair pulled 8 lengths clear of the third that day, and the form looks solid. Raised 2 lb for what was just his second run back from absence, he looks on a winning mark, and can prove the point by beating some better fancied opponents. Hopefully, it will be a case of "Thanks a bundle, Bundle" at a quarter past five.

Recommendations:

Both at Windsor

Back Shahrazad @ [4.0] in the 16:40 (NAP)

Back Mister Fizz @ [6.2] in the 17:10 (NB)