Apart from being pipped on the line, there's nothing to be upset about, Calico Blue.
We all want to win every race, but when your horse loses and you don't have anything to point your finger at as to why they lost, you've just got to take it on the chin.
Calico Blue got the position I thought he would get from the low draw at Chester. He stalked the leader, and when Ray Dawson got a response from his mount, I thought he was going to win. The winner came on the blindside up the rail and took the win right at the very end of the race.
Dark Cloud Rising 2/1 (1pt) – Ripon 3.54
I'd love to blank out Danny Tudhope and David O'Meara from my websites I use to pick horses, as they are always going to have great horses for the northern races. My main issue with the pair is that they rarely deliver the goods when I'm backing them with my money. To add insult to injury, they love to show up when I back against them.
Carrying 10st means that Dark Cloud Rising is going to need to be on his A-Game, and if he isn't at his best, we're going to be in trouble. A positive to believe that he can shoulder such a heavy weight is that he was a convincing course and distance winner the time before last.
Mark Winn was on board when they made a change in tactics and decided to run from the front. I'd like to see Tudhope take the same approach as Mark Winn, as it clearly worked, so why change it? The win in the middle of June was in a Class 2, so he should be finding this race a little easier than the opposition he beat at Ripon on that day.
This won't be a walk in the park despite winning cosily at this venue. He has gone up in the handicap, and the horses in this race aren't mugs, but he's not ridiculously short and is at a decent enough price if the same version shows up.
Sedeirah 6/4 (1pt) – Nottingham 4.40
It's annoying that the early price of 7/2 or 3/1 has long gone on Sedeirah, and I'm stuck with a fraction of that price at 6/4.
In all fairness, I can see why the price collapsed by that much. This is a four-runner race, and the top two in the market are the least exposed and could easily find improvement to win. In my opinion, Sedeirah was more attractive that Del Corso, and that's based on the pedigree.
Both horses have good pedigrees, but Sedeirah's Dam was a smart horse at this type of trip, which makes me interested in this filly on her handicap debut. She has a sibling who has only run three times, and he didn't get up to much, so you can't use that as an indicator. However, I think we've seen enough from this filly from her previous runs to suggest she has a future.
GambleAware