When you're taking on last year's Arc winner, you're hoping he's not cherry-ripe, but he was.
City Bay Roller had the race run to how he wanted, but top class showed when Daryz cruised past him and cemented himself as the leading charge to retain his Arc crown.
Spraran Nua was sent off favourite for her Group 1 attempt, but was only good enough for a middle-of-the-pack finish. Friendly Soul was the winner, and did comfortably in the end.
Ecclefechan 7/4 – Windsor 3.42
I'm taking a short enough price on a horse who has won his previous two races in Class 6 company, and is now attempting a Class 4, but he's very unexposed at this trip.
He has been campaigned in a very odd way; he has swapped and changed between five, six and seven furlongs for over twelve months, and nothing was working. John Ryan then said balls to that and put him to a mile, and he hasn't looked back since. He won over today's course and distance three weeks ago, and then followed up with an even better success at Yarmouth.
He is running off a 2lb lower mark than his latest win, which is crazy, but that's because he's not carrying a penalty due to him winning in an apprentice race last time out, and he was carrying a penalty last time out. Usually, I'd stay away from this type of step up in class, but the other horses in this race are carrying a lot more weight and look vulnerable to an improver.
John Ryan's stable is going very nicely at present, as shown by having three winners in his last eight runners (38% strike rate), two of those winners coming from Ecclefechan.
Evening Fades 7/1 – Wolverhampton 7.30
With William Haggas being in tremendous form, it might be worth chancing his only runner of the day, Evening Fades, in a Class 6 race at Wolverhampton.
Evening Fades has a very good pedigree, so it's a little confusing how she hasn't managed to get off the mark, especially when she is rated in the 60's. Haggas has taken the decision to drop this filly in trip by a couple of furlongs, which didn't suit her in the past, but they are opting for it again.
Her pedigree suggests that this trip should be what she wants. She has decent stamina in the pedigree from both sides of the pedigree. Both the Sire (Ulysses) and the Dam (In The Night) were very good in and around this type of trip, and when you see the progeny that the Dam has produced, you'd like to think that Evening Fades will be better than what we've seen.
GambleAware