A couple of poor rides were on display for Thursday's selections.
I sound like a broken record with jockeys in recent days, but the rides Sean Levey and Billy Loughnane gave the selections weren't great.
Sean decided to fight his horse for six furlongs in a race which had no pace. I would've liked Sean to let his horse get into a rhythm and take the lead, rather than wasting energy.
Billy didn't get a clear run through in the Racing League. He tried to weave the perfect passage rather than getting his elbows out, and by that time, the horses ahead of him had a huge headstart.
Many Men 9/4 (2pt) – Ascot 3.00
Younger horses against the older horses haven't been too kind to me this season, but it's hard to get away from Many Men in this race.
Jim Boyle is struggling for form at present, so we might get a bit more value on Many Men in this race. If the stable form isn't anything to go off, Many Men has a superb chance at the weights in this Class 3 contest. He gets a huge amount of weight due to him being a young horse, and it being run over 2m. He is rated 85, which is just 1lb lower than the top weight in the race, but carries 15lbs less.
This trip is the furthest he has ever run, so he has to prove he has the stamina. Based on his Doncaster win the time before last, this looks like a trip which is worth exploring. He looked in trouble a couple of furlongs from home at Doncaster, but his engine kicked in and he stayed on to win in the dying strides. The time after at Haydock, he didn't run anywhere near the same level, but maybe something was off that day. He is definitely worth another try, as horses don't run to their best in every race.
The form of his Doncaster win looks solid and bodes well for today's race. The runner-up ran well in the Haydock race that Many Men was poor in, and a couple of others have run well since.
Arantes Nascimento 15/2 (0.5pt EW, 4pl) – Ascot 4.10
When I tipped up Arantes Nascimento last time out at Thirsk, he was unlucky not to win, but got going too late.
Since then, he has moved from Gemma Tutty's yard to Michael Attwater's. I don't think the stable change will bring out a great deal of improvement, but Michael is in good form at present, and the decision to come to Ascot is a positive one. This race is competitive, and it's a higher class than the Thirsk race, but the stiffness of Ascot should suit his horse.
This year, he has run over 6f and was staying on strongly in his races over that trip. He went to Chester over 7f, didn't get the best of runs through the field, but stayed on strongly again. The same comments about finishing off well can be applied to his latest run, so the stiff Ascot finish will allow him to use his stamina more.
GambleAware