We start a busy couple of days with Bay Fortuna running for the second time this Summer in Newton Abbot's 18 and a half furlong Handicap Hurdle this afternoon; Buddy to his friends has had something of an interrupted career but has close to a 50% win and place record from all of his starts on good ground, which he will have today. With one exception, that today is a furlong and a half shorter than twenty furlongs, today's race fits really nicely into his early season;left handed and flat and he will be both sharper and fitter than at Huntingdon three weeks ago; the tissue has him as around a 13/2 third favourite this pm and he goes to Devon to run well and competitively over a trip that might be slightly shorter than his optimum.
At Bath Dreamboat Annie, who is an expansive and physically striking filly who appreciates a sound surface, returns to the track where she won a Maiden last June before running really well in two sprint Nurseries at Bath and, particularly, in a good quality iteration at Sandown at the beginning of September. She went to post at Windsor eight days ago for her seasonal debut as the favourite for their Bank Holiday sprint handicap only to stumble and unseat Jason Watson when about to get into the race.This evening's race is tight with perhaps no more than four or five pounds between them but she does represent some decent each way value at around 5/1 with the dead eight runners.
Bayston Hill won at Lingfield a fortnight ago off a three month break and a mark of 69 and comes to this evening's race in form which might not be the case for a goodly element of the opposition. He also won at Bath almost exactly a year ago off 65; so the issue today is whether he can defy a career high mark of 72; we have put up Joshua Bryan (another of the long line of Kingsclere boys and Joshua has ridden 39 winners) to take off five pounds; Richard Hannon does the same with See the Sea, who might be the principal opposition today, by using the equally promising Rossa Ryan.We go to Bath with competitive chances and probably the right approach for our horses is three each way singles, doubles and trebles!!
We take the nice Champs Elysees filly, Point in Time, owned by the Hobbs family to Salisbury tomorrow along with Bird for Life for the Club;and we will be keeping a close eye on the ground at Newbury on Friday for both Roodeparis and Rocus.