Paul Ferguson two selections for us on Saturday; Elusive Theatre in the 3.20 at Hexham and Gulliver in the 3.30 at York. Compare odds and bet.
With Royal Ascot on the horizon, this weekend is inevitably a little quiet, but there are still a couple of interesting horses on show, the Jeremy Noseda-trained Intrepidly being one.
A strong finisher when winning a Kempton maiden over 7f, he has a 255-day lay-off to overcome, so the market might be the best guide to how ready is, for this handicap debut at Sandown.
Up at York, a chance is taken on Gulliver (3:30) who won a maiden at the track back in October over 7f. Keen on that occasion, he made his reappearance in the Craven Stakes and, though he finished last of seven, he shaped well for a long way. Dropped from a mile to 6f last time, he completely missed the break so had little chance thereafter.
That is obviously a concern this afternoon but, if he gets off on terms, he looks capable of going well off a mark of 90. Hugo Palmer’s horses are in better form now than when he made that reappearance and, at 16-1, a chance can be taken that it was a one-off last time.
Hexham stages a decent little novices’ chase for the time of year, in which Elusive Theatre (3:20) is taken to follow up her bloodless debut success at Cartmel.
Stuart Crawford’s runner jumped beautifully on debut and a similar round of jumping could make her difficult to peg back under Brian Hughes. A smart handicap hurdler over a little further, she is a former Point-to-Point winner and, judged on last month’s debut, chasing could be the making of her.
Saturday’s selections:
3:20 Hexham: Elusive Theatre; 5/4 betfred
3:30 York: Gulliver; 16/1 bet365
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