At The Races

Hugh Taylor
06 Sep 2010

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Updated 10:50,11.36

All selections are now online.

At Bath, it seems likely that rain is going to hit the track this afternoon. COURT WING is an interesting runner in the modest 1m3f handicap that closes the card, and might be even more interesting if the rain does come. She seemed devoid of ability on her first seven starts, but showed quite a bit more on her debut for Richard Price at Yarmouth last time, travelling as well as any bar the winner but not quite getting home and fading in the last two furlongs, with lack of peak fitness or stamina (the trip was 1m6f) plausible reasons. The race has worked out well enough, and if the rain has got into the ground by this time, it’s possible she might be suited by it, on pedigree at least. She hasn’t run on softer than good, but her dam Nicely went well with give in the ground, recording her two wins on soft and good to soft ground, and her two winning half-brothers are both soft-ground performers — Benfleet Boy’s three turf wins on the Flat and over hurdles have all come on soft or heavy ground, and three of Supsonic’s six career wins came on soft or heavy ground. The stable had 33-1 and 66-1 (over jumps) winners last month and might be able to spring another surprise here.

Punters looking at the Newcastle card today should note that this is the first time since the celebrated/notorious Northumberland Plate meeting in June (when front-runners dominated on the stands rail) that the stalls on the straight course have been on the stands side. Of course, a few horses have tried the stands rail since, but in those instances there has either been a false rail or the ground has been on the soft side of good. It’s hard to be sure whether the previous bias will re-emerge — the stands rail got plenty of wear and tear during the early part of the season, but then again, the centre will have been chewed up with plenty of horses having pounded up the middle of the track at the recent soft-ground meetings. I’m going to take a chance that the jockeys do decide to stick to the rail and that some of the former bias returns. If it does, one horse whose chances will be improved immeasurably is BALLARINA in the 5f maiden (3.20). If her name seems familiar, that’s because she was selected in this column on her first two starts this season, and frustratingly she was matched at long odds-on in-running on the first occasion, having been 20-1 in the morning. She looks something of a short runner, and several of her rivals have better form, but she is drawn 11 of 11 here and a few of the market leaders aren’t certain to be suited by 5f. If the stands rail does turn out to be the best place, I’ll be very surprised if she isn’t in front on the rail after a furlong — she has excellent early speed — and maybe this time she will be able to hold on.