News that James Doyle is free to ride Young Rascal for William Haggas in Saturday’s Derby with Silvestre de Sousa booked for Dee Ex Bee in the Epsom classic. The latter is owned by Sheikh Mohammed’s son for whom Doyle is the retained jockey, but an agreement has been reached with all parties that frees up the Doyler for the progressive Haggas colt. He would be a threat to all at Epsom if the ground is on the soft side of good.
Young Rascal is 10/1 with BetVictor with Mark Johnston’s Dee Ex Bee 25/1. The unbeaten Guineas’ winner Saxon Warrior remains the 4/6 market leader at BetVictor.
Johnston’s Octave makes plenty of appeal on breeding for the 6f Fillies’ Novices event at Lingfield but Repulse Bay (2.10) cost £400,000 gns as a yearling and is the half-sister to three winners. Her breeding suggests she will get further in time, but she is drawn in stall one and represents the shrewd yard of Ralph Beckett.
Form figures of 666 would suggest Ryan Moore has a devil of a job in getting Prevent (2.40) home in the 6f Handicap but you can put a line through his last effort as he was constantly denied a run at Nottingham. It is possible that he will find this 6f trip on polytrack on the sharp side but I think he is well treated for his handicap debut.
Useful hurdler Coeur Blimey loved the soft ground at Chepstow earlier in the month and he is likely to find this surface on the quick side especially as he has to give weight away all round and has a poor draw to overcome in stall ten.
John Gosden‘s Wissahickon (3.10) won on his racecourse debut at Wolverhampton before finishing second at Chelmsford back in November. He is no star but he receives a stone from Coeur Blimey – a bigger danger may be the well-bred newcomer Papal Count.
Sawwaah won the Wood Ditton at Newmarket’s Craven meeting on debut at 25/1 but the form has not yet been franked and he may struggle to give 7lbs to Gosden’s Stylehunter (3.40) who is rated 82 and receives 7lbs from Owen Burrows’ likely market leader.
De Sousa keeps the ride on The Way You Dance (4.40) having ridden the horse when second at Chepstow from a 3lbs lower mark a fortnight ago. The winner has since won a shade cosily from a 6lbs higher mark and Neil Mulholland’s 6-y-old did win a 3m hurdle on his penultimate start – he is in the form of his life at present.
Dubai Frame (5.10) is bred to appreciate the step up to a mile-and-a-half on his handicap debut and the booking of Ryan Moore would suggest connections are expecting a big run first time out this season. The selection cost 140,000 gns as a yearling and this colt is bred to be better than his opening mark of 67.
Angel’s Glory (3.20) was no match for the promising Pretty Baby at Redcar on her reappearance but that form was franked when the winner subsequently landed a listed contest at Nottingham. She steps back up in trip this afternoon at Leicester and gets the vote in a cracking 7f fillies’ handicap.
The form of Fanaar’s (3.50) fourth at Newmarket on debut has taken a couple of knocks but today’s sixth furlong should suit the William Haggas juvenile. There are a number of well-bred newcomers in opposition but the selection has shown a fair level of form and has that initial experience under his belt.
Immortal Romance (4.20) was well on top at the end of his Yarmouth reappearance and he is taken to defy a 7lbs rise. Jamie Spencer weaved his way from the back of the field on his reappearance and he certainly appreciated the step up to 10f. He might still be ahead of the handicapper.
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