One for me tomorrow in the shape of 7.05 Ascot Colonel Mak 12/1. I'd take the price on offer now as I'd be surprised if he didn't see a bit of market support.
Slightly surprised to see 15/8 about Contributor. I put him up LTO and although this is no handicap the yard believe he's much better than his 99 mark and I hope he can go in tomorrow in what doesn't look an overly strong race.
Don't see any reason why he can't complete the 6 timer. I'd wait until tomorrow to back him as I think he'll drift.
Like the look of Mark Johnston's Storm Moon in the 3.15 at Chester - drawn 1, bounce him out, dictate the pace, kick off the bend and hold them off up the straight - job done
Obviously Contributor and Memphis Tennessee are the briefcase jobs tomorrow. But one at a price I quite like Chester 3.15 Satsuma 20/1
1.45 SEANIE 8/1 was a very unlucky handicap horse last year on multiple occasions. Tomorrow he is drawn okay and if he can get a position he has the ability to go close, coming on for his reappearance recently. 3.15 JILLNEXTDOOR 14/1 Did not get the best draw when last seen at Sandown but is pitched on the inside here so we need her to bounce out. The good thing if she does is that she will stay strongly and IMO will eventually get 1m. She is a far better filly than form figures suggest.
7.05 Ascot Colonel Mak 12/1 The well handicapped Colonel Mak ran a very eye catching race on his 3rd start back from a break LTO and with Ryan Moore booked and getting dropped back to a Class 3 handicap for the first time since 2010 I think he's got great chance of resuming winning ways in this large field handicap. Now rated 90, Colonel Mak is now 8lb below the mark he won off at Doncaster last April impressively and a full stone below the mark he ran a blinder in 3rd behind Maarek at Newmarket last May and on that form he is clearly very well handicapped. This 6 year old started off this season very poorly with two under par runs but looked very close to being back to himself on his last start 18 days ago. At Pontefract over 6f, Graham Gibbons sent his mount to the front of the field from stall 7 where he set a pretty decent pace. At the 2f pole, Colonel Mak was travelling very well and looked like the winner at that stage but he was headed just outside the final furlong as Gibbons didn't get stuck into him as he allowed him to come home a 5L beaten 7th. It was a massive improvement on his first two runs of this season and that run looked like it would get him spot on for today which very much seems the case with the excellent Ryan Moore taking over in the saddle for the first time. From his draw in stall 11, I expect Moore to either sit just in behind the leaders or set off from the front as I presume the field will group somewhere near the middle of the track. David Barron has his horses in fine order at the moment and given that Colonel Mak is so well handicapped on last season's form and dropped into a Class 3 handicap for the first time in nearly 3 years I think Colonel Mak has a great chance of resuming winning ways if building on his last promising effort.
1.55 Market Rasen Full Speed 5/1 Full Speed is another wonderful success story for the fantastic Phil Kirby and despite and 8lb rise for his victory last month I think he's definitely the one they all have to beat. This 8 year old is in absolutely terrific form at present winning 3 of his last 4 starts (twice on the flat) and I think he has a lot more to offer off his current mark of 115. Completely unexposed over hurdles with just 4 starts to date, Full Speed actually made his hurdling debut way back in 2009 for Alan Swinbank where he ran a fine 4th in a race won by the very talented Mare Alasi and for some reason or another he was confined to the flat before he joined current connections back in August of last year. After getting fit on the flat, he made his belated return to the National Hunt scene where he ran an absolute blinder given his absence from this discipline when beaten a little over a length by Dotties Dilemma back in October last year on bottomless ground. It was a great effort and after winning on the flat in the interim period he made his handicap debut again in unsuitably bottomless ground when comprehensively beaten by the incredibly well handicapped Coverholder (now rated 34lb higher) at Kelso back in February. After winning again on the flat, he made it 4th time lucky over hurdles at Newcastle last month off a mark of 107 when scoring convincingly over 2m last month. Settled in midfield, Full Speed didn't travel with the same fluency as he can on the flat but was still always going pretty well for Richie McGrath. Heading into the home straight tracking the eventual runner up All That Remains, Full Speed had to be vigorously driven and despite making a mistake at 2 out he eventual ground down his game opponent to win going away by nearly 4L with a gap back to the rest of the field. Full Speed very much shaped like he would be better over further that day and I think he'll really appreciate the step up to 2m3f in this contest. The form of that victory has already been strongly franked with the 2nd winning convincingly off the same mark on his only outing since and given that Full Speed was well in command in beating him I think the 8lb rise seems more than fair. Completely unexposed in this discipline, Full Speed only takes a slight step up in grade to a 0-115 contest where he'll have to shoulder top weight but that doesn't really concern me at all. In addition to appreciating the extra distance, I think he'll prefer the quick surface today and I think he'll take an awful lot of beating. Phil Kirby can do so little wrong at present and I'm confident that Full Speed can keep both his and the trainer's wonderful run going. Phil Kirby also runs the very interesting Jawaab 6/1 in the race proceeding this who should love the quick ground, looks on a very winnable mark of 104 and who takes a huge step back in Class from a 0-135 to this 0-115 contest. Have also done him in a single and an each way double on the pair.
Four at Chester for me: 1:45 - Es Que Love 14/1 2:15 - Gabrials Kaka 15/2 3:15 - Dutch Masterpiece 6/1 3:45 - Clockmaker 11/1
totally concur with you about channon's horse-- juice in the ground will be a big aid,and as with Effie B yesterday, the draw is all important. Over at nottingham-- Michael Appleby has a few out, this is one of his more targeted tracks, Stellar Express in the 6 15 may reward backers... good luck to all ......
i am sure many on here will have spotted Fergal O'brien's hot streak-- he runs BallyGrooby Bertie in the bumper at market rasen-- conor shoemark takes off 7lb , but more importantly, the beast has track experience, and after his run at perth fergal said, he got tired in the last two furlongs, but will come on enormously for it. If that is the case, then following in the footsteps of Nurse Ratched at exeter on wed, Ballygrooby Bertie may have his moment in the evening sun.....
Nine feckin meetings on today,wont be getting much work done in the office especially that its friday!Has to be a treble to be found in there somewhere
Cheers for that , hopefully mubtadi will drift later Gone for 3 today at Chester 1.45 Gandalak 2.15 Contributor 2.45 Mount Athos
It’s ridiculous. Overkill with a capital ‘O’. Why we need so many meetings I have no idea. Anyway surprising news of the day (I was so surprised in fact that my monocle popped out) for me is that the 115 rated, Group winner and last year’s Derby second Main Sequence has been gelded! Why, I say why?!? Surely, with such a CV he’s a decent stallion proposition already?!? Anyway, he makes his seasonal return tomorrow, across the county line, at Ascot.
You joker happy birthday bob if it is your birthday that is if not happy birthday anyway or happy new year
