14
LOSERS TO WINNERS
RACING AHEADISSUE 178John Anthony looks at horses that went close in
their last race and should be scoring soon
RABBITTE could
hop it next time
JIMMY RABBITTE
(Second, 2m Hcp Hdl, Newton Abbot
on July 7)
You always think twice about including
a jumps horse that blundered away
their winning chance but we’ll make an
exception for this Dr Richard Newland
runner. He landed three races last
winter and has held his form well with a
run of placed efforts in Class 3 and 4
level.
This should have been another suc-
cess as he was in the lead and in control
approaching the final flight. Ridden by
Miss Lilly Pinchin, he crashed through
the hurdle and lost his momentum.
That allowed Native Fighter to nail him
right on the line. Jimmy Rabbitte can
make up for this in a similar contest
before too long.
GREENGAGE
(Second, 1m2f Class 6 Handicap, Ayr
on July 7)
A career record of 15 runs, no wins and
just three places isn’t much to write
home about — or in an article like this.
But this four-year-old filly looks ready
to lose that maiden tag after moving
from JJ Murphy in Ireland to Tristan
Davidson’s yard.
After a very rusty run at Carlisle in
May after nine months off, he looked
more than capable of scoring when
dropped backed to 1m2f in modest
company at Ayr. He travelled strongly
only to find his way blocked a couple of
times which didn’t help his chances.
He boxed on again once in the clear
and will hopefully take a step forward
from this. Even if he doesn’t a repeat of
this effort with a little more luck can
pay dividends.SARASOTA
(Third, 6f Class 6 Handicap, Brighton
on July 9)
Horses running in selling company
aren’t known for their progressive
nature but Alexandra Dunn’s four-year-
old is still learning the game. She was
having just her second run for the yard
here and her first run on turf.
Under Cieren Fallon, she took to the
surface well and stayed on strongly in
the closing stages to be beaten two
lengths. Of course this form isn’t the
strongest but a step up to 7f and a simi-
larly weak contest can see her get off
the mark.PRINCESS POWER
(Fourth, 6f Class 2 Handicap, Newmar-
ket on July 11)
A step up in quality now and a nice
handicapper to follow after another
good effort. She went into this compet-
itive contest at the July Festival with
solid claims after winning with a bit in
hand at Doncaster in June.
This big-field handicap was a much
stiffer proposition compared to that
but she really held her own and might
have finished closer with a clear run.
This 6f distance clearly suits well and
she could have her sights lowered
slightly next time and pay dividends.NKOSIKAZI
(Second, 1m Class 3 Handicap, New-
market on July 11)
Not the darkest of horses given she wasbeaten in a photo by the useful Wings
Of Time. This was just her second start
for William Haggas and it won’t be long
before she wins for the yard.
She was taking on the colts here and
it took the winner’s three-year-old
allowance to make the difference at the
line. She was challenged throughout
the final quarter-mile but kept digging
deep. It would be hard to beat here if
going into a fillies contest after this.TSAR
(Fourth, 7f Class 3 Maiden, Newmarket
on July 12)
This son of Kingman made a very nice
start to his career under Frankie Dettori
despite not being asked too many
questions.
He missed the break and was very
green when asked to make any kind of
effort and finishing well behind the
principals. This looks a decent enough
maiden and John Gosden’s youngster
should come on a lot for the experi-
ence.ALMASHRIQ
(Eighth, 1m2f Class 2 Handicap, New-
market on July 12)
Although well beaten behind
Walkinthesand, this was an encourag-
ing effort from the three-year-old son
of War Front. He was upped from a
mile for the first time and didn’t settle
particularly well on just his fourth race-
course experience.
Despite that he showed a decent
cruising speed and was well away from
the pace, making it difficult to pick up
when things hotted up in front.