Ten Carat Harry will bid to extend his unbeaten record on the all-weather to seven in the BetMGM Spring Cup at Lingfield on Saturday.
Jamie Osborne’s charge was well beaten on his Bath debut in September, but opened his account in some style at Wolverhampton next time before placing third back on the grass at Catterick.
He has since rattled off five successive victories on artificial surfaces over six furlongs, scoring twice at Newcastle, twice at Southwell and once at Lingfield – and while he faces a step up in class and distance for this seven-furlong Listed event, Osborne is happy to roll the dice.
He said: “He’s been great. We tried him over seven furlongs earlier in his career, but the ground had gone a bit soft that day and he didn’t get the trip.
“I have my doubts about him getting seven, but there’s a very obvious route for this horse to run on All-Weather Championships Finals Day on April 3 and I’ve been struggling to keep a lid on him, so I thought it would help his chance at Newcastle if I could get another run into him five weeks before.
“It’s a bit of a shot to nothing – if he doesn’t get the trip he doesn’t get the trip and it would not detract from his Newcastle chance (over six furlongs).
“Now he’s a bit stronger, a different finish and a different type of race, it’s not impossible he could get seven and it’s worth a shot.”
Ten Carat Harry features in an eight-strong field, with Ralph Beckett’s course and distance winner Richie’s Rocket, Andrew Balding’s Sir Albert and the Ado McGuinness-train Irish raider Star Strewn among his rivals.
Beckett said: “Richie’s Rocket has trained well all winter. He obviously showed a liking for the place when winning his novice, so we felt it made sense to bring him back here. We are looking forward to getting him started.”
Richard Hughes won the race three times as a jockey, including on Paco Boy, and the Lambourn trainer saddles confirmed black-type performer Bella Lyra.
“We are really pleased with Bella Lyra, who is going well at home. She has a good draw in stall two and is one of the higher-rated runners in the race, which always helps,” said Hughes.
“She has done nothing wrong in her career so far. We have her ready for this, while I think she will enjoy racing on the all-weather.
“I think she might get a mile this year and the German 1,000 Guineas is a race we have earmarked for her.”
