The draw for the Breeders' Cup Classic took place yesterday and Triple-Crown winner American Pharoah has been given an excellent stall in four whilst the mare Beholder is drawn on the wide outside in ten. As a result American Pharoah is 5/4 from 7/4 at BetVictor for the finale with Beholder 4s from 7/2; Gleneagles is drawn in stall five but can't possibly live with the Americans on dirt can he? He is 12/1 from 10s.
Back to the present and at Nottingham the form of Daqeeq's (12.50) third over C&D was let down by the lethargic effort of winner Mengli Khan in the Racing Post Trophy last weekend. That said it was certainly an eye-catching effort and I would be disappointed if he didn't improve on that run today although as a son of New Approach he wouldn't want the ground to turn heavy.
Luca Cumani's Al (2.50) remains a horse of considerable talent and is one to keep on the right side of in good staying handicaps next season. Indeed he could easily turn out to be an Ebor horse but more immediately he must go close at Colwick Park, although this is likely to be the softest ground he has encountered to date. He wasn't beaten far in the Melrose at the Ebor Festival last time and can take advantage of the 9lbs weight-for-age allowance he receives from the older horses.
Be On Time will be all the rage for the 2m Chase at Fakenham given he has only been raised 5lbs for his recent Worcester win and the runner up Helium has subsequently trotted up by the best part of 20L. That is likely to be factored into his price, however, and the Jamie Snowdon yard are largely out of sorts.
Top-weight Artifice Sivola (2.40) is a dual chase winner including over C&D last season and is another open to significant improvement given he is still only a 5-year-old. Trainer Lucy Wadham likes to have winners at her local jumps track and I am convinced the grey remains potentially well treated.
Dainty Diva (3.10) cannot be opposed in the 2m 4f Handicap Hurdle given he runs off the same mark as when winning a conditional jockey's event at Fontwell last week and it should be worth noting that he is also entered at Uttoxeter on Thursday. This looks an excellent piece of placing by Jeremy Scott and Nick Schofield takes over in the plate.
A good and valuable card at Chelmsford and Velvet Revolution (1.30) can land the opener having shaped with considerable promise over C&D on debut for Marco Botti when a never nearer fifth having been well supported. With that experience behind him he is likely to be hard to beat with Martin Harley keeping the ride.
The feature 10f handicap is a terrific contest and the nod goes to Saeed Bin Suroor's progressive Khusoosy (3.00) who has won three of his last four starts, all at Kempton, and whose 6lbs rise for his latest win is, arguably, halved with Kevin Stott taking off 3lbs. The selection has to prove he is not just a Kempton specialist, but he is well drawn in five and might have most to fear from fellow 3-year-olds Azraff and Aleator who are also well housed inside him in stalls two and three respectively.
The yard of Ivan Furtado are always worth more than a passing glance to see if there is market support and I hope there is a bit of money around for Kachou (3.30) who is 8lbs higher than when scoring over C&D back in August. He has been given a couple of months off since disappointing at Lingfield but it wouldn't surprise me if he has been laid out for today's event.
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