2.00 Brahms De Clermont is a dual bumper with his only defeat in that sphere coming in a Class 1 at Cheltenham. He is skinny enough though and there are two in opposition that should give him plenty to think about. MAGIC DANCER and Hillcrest Fire both achieved flat ratings of 90 and if transferring that to the all weather they must go very close indeed. 2.30 Tommy Silver had only the one run on the flat in France finishing third. He has plenty of speed and is a worthy favourite, Too short for my money though and if having a bet it would be a speculative wager on IT’S A STINGwho was a dual bumper winner back in the day albeit only achieving an RPR mark of 112. He has lost his way a bit so this transition needs to spark some sort of revival. 3.00 Simonia, Far Cry and Oriental Flame met in a Lingfield bumper and the favourite looks to have it all to do to reverse the form with the other two. There are a couple of interesting debutantes and the market should be informative. Rose To Fame is the first foal of a bumper winner and the yard have had a cracking season thus far in bumpers. GIVING BACK comes from a yard that is more than useful in this sphere and the dam and half brother were winners on the flat. 3.30 ZUBAYR’s all weather flat form rating of 90 makes him favourite for this for me. 4.00 PEGGIES VENTURE was 1212 in bumpers and that included an all weather win for a rating of 114. McGroarty achieved a rating of 120 for winning a Gowran bumper and could be the main danger although Onefortheroadtom does look to possess plenty of pace himself. 4.30 Oh Land Abloom kept some fair company in bumpers although didn’t win in four attempts has gone on to be a very nice 133 hurdler, that puts him bang there with Peter The Mayo Man with his hurdle rating of 137. The interesting one for me though is PECULIAR PLACES who still has any amount of improvement to come and is returning from a wind op. 5.00 A really tricky affair to complete the card and Chelsea Flyer sets a really decent standard with 125 over hurdles and a rating of 119 in bumpers when being placed three times. VOLPONE JELOIS has a little bit to find on those ratings but crucially for me is proven on the all weather. Rays The Money also has fair flat form on the all weather but only up to 11 furlongs. Broughtons Admiral is fairly lightly raced and has an interesting jockey booking, at 50/1 he could be worth an EW saver.
Nice one stick. I’m about to board BA193 from Heathrow to Dallas and hope to see you’ve had plenty of winners when I arrive.
Unfortunately I only changed planes at Dallas on my way to Wichita. Sunny and 22 degrees in Dallas, bloody lovely. Well done on the winners stick
I watched “The Darkest Hour” on the flight, very impressive. Then I rewatched Dunkirk. Bit of a WWII extravaganza but it did make me think that we would be absolutely ****ed as a nation these days if we had to fight a war. We wouldn’t have a capable PM for a start.
You know, Oddy, a fleet of small boats actually went from Kingston-on-Thames, which is upstream from the second Lock on the Thames at Teddington (I think Richmond Lock is the first?). It is unbelievable to think that the Channel was so calm and flat at that time to allow these small vessels to go to Dunkirk and back! It was a miracle, and certainly a part of modern folklore in the part of the world where I was born. Have a good trip and safe journey home. Enjoy the steaks! Hope you find a decent beer there (Carlsberg or Heineken?). Local beer always tasted a bit like gnat's piss to me.
