To not walk away with two winners on Sunday was unlucky to say the least.
Philanthropist got blocked when cruising into contention in the home straight. He went for a gap, but the door was slammed shut on him. That checked his momentum and meant he had to get back up to top speed with a couple of furlongs to go. I still believed that he could get there, but he found it too difficult. With a clear run, I think he wins, but that's just a guessing game.
On the bright side, Rosy Affair ran out a comfortable winner in the big race at Pontefract. She had the best form in the race, but was being overlooked in the market. She got a nice trip around the outside, and when Billy asked her to secure the win, she obliged.
Angel Numbers 8/1 (1pt EW, 3pl) – Windsor 6.00
I think it is easy to get bogged down with the fifth-placed finish at Glorious Goodwood by Angel Numbers, as you can say she was flattered to be as close as she did. But in reality, that is the best form in this race by quite a wide margin, so she gets my vote.
Dazzling Haze caught my eye when looking through the race. She won nicely at Musselburgh when doing a fair bit wrong in the early stages. She was keen and wanted to go quicker than allowed, but managed to overcome that and win by a couple of lengths. In hindsight, watching it back, it looked like the runner-up wasn't given the strongest of rides, and the form doesn't look great. She has gone up 9lbs for that win, which seems very harsh, and I think she might get found out off this mark.
Angel Numbers bounced back to form at Goodwood after putting in a stinker the time before at Beverley. She won on debut at Chepstow and then ran much better last time out. The form of the race is starting to work out nicely. The fourth-placed horse has since finished second in a Listed race on the weekend just gone.
Angel Numbers was rated 80 going into the Goodwood race, but the handicapper has dropped her to a mark of 77, which seems ludicrous, and on that basis, she has to be well handicapped.
I actually cannot understand why she is priced the way she is in the market. She opened up at 10/1 and is now 8/1, and that is still far too big. I think she should be priced up at around 7/2, if not shorter. I can see why people have latched onto the Godolphin runner, who could be well handicapped on nursery debut, but Robert Havlin or William Buick aren't on board, and if they had such a good chance, you'd see them in the saddle. Also, Oisin Murphy probably would've been offered the ride, but he's opted for the Crisford horse.
GambleAware