James Flaherty

Published 9:01 - all selections online

There is something for everyone today, with quality Flat racing from Newmarket and jumping action returning at Chepstow, with the latter live on Sky Sports Racing.

I’ll be taking more of a watching brief in terms of the National Hunt scene over the next few weeks, but today’s card certainly promises to be informative.

It is an excellent Friday card at Newmarket, featuring the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile among a host of pattern contests. I am looking forward to seeing Musical Times again, even though she is not a betting proposition. However, it is the bet365 Old Rowley Cup Handicap (3:30) that appeals most from a betting point of view, and in particular the chances of LORD D’OR (3:30 Newmarket).

The key piece of form could well be the handicap run over the same distance at Ascot just over a month ago, in which the selection finished fourth behind Turty Tree, with Archers Bay in third. I thought in the immediate aftermath of that contest that Andrew Balding’s gelding was unlucky on that occasion, and with a swing in the weights now too, I think he might reverse the form.

That was the selection’s handicap debut as well as his first run over a mile and a half. He was ridden to get the trip but was stopped in his run twice up the home straight. He lost both ground and momentum in the process, while the winner got a smooth run through from a similar position.

Lord D’Or has threatened more than he has achieved thus far admittedly, and he is still a maiden after six starts. He also has three odds-on defeats on his CV, which isn’t ideal, but I think only the third of those was disappointing.

The first came over a mile, which simply isn’t enough of a test for him, while the second was a maiden at Windsor that has worked out well. That form, as well as his handicap debut, suggests there is scope in his current mark of 81.

Later in the card, I can’t resist a play on TOULEEN (4:45 Newmarket) in the Newmarket Pony Academy Pride Stakes (4:45), having long thought she was crying out for a step up in trip. I don’t think it's any coincidence that her best run this season came over the stiff mile at Ascot, in a race that was unforgiving in terms of the stamina test it presented.

That form sets the standard here, and I do believe she will improve for the extra two furlongs on offer. She has been below that level since, but there were mitigating circumstances for those efforts, and I feel like she can bounce back here.

The Oaks was mentioned in passing earlier in the season, so it is somewhat surprising that connections have waited this long to try her beyond a mile. Perhaps the Ascot run stalled those plans, but I have been convinced for a while that she needs a stiffer test, and if it does bring about improvement, she should be hard to beat.

Legacy Link seems to have lost her way since her Oaks second, but stepping back in distance could suit her, while Silver Lake is clearly on a roll, but this does require another sizable step forward if the fillies with proven Group 1 form run to their best.