Electric Storm broke awkwardly out of the gates and was instantly on the backfoot, plus she never looked to be going as well as she did on her previous start.
The other selection on the day was violently weak in the market and looked in desperate need of the run, like the market suggested.
Without Delay 14/1 (0.5pt EW, 4pl) – Catterick 1.47
Monday's selections are being typed up well before the odds have been released, so I can't comment on the position of the market, but I do think we will get decent odds on Without Delay who appears to be on a dangerous mark and can definitely run well in this apprentice handicap.
This looks like a very dodgy race on paper, due to the apprentices in the saddle, but also because it's a Class 6 race, full of horses who come in and out of form. Without Delay is a four-time winner, one of those wins came over today's C&D, and he has run well in defeat on multiple occasions at this venue. The interesting fact about this horse is that 57 is the magic number. Whenever he seems to drop to this mark in the handicap, he wins. He has managed to win three times when running off this mark, and given Shay Farmer is taking off a further 5lbs, he looks to have a nice opportunity to go close.
I don't know too much about the jockey, but he has had two winners in the last fourteen days from five rides, so is riding full of confidence, which is what you want when riding against your fellow apprentices and around a track like Catterick where you need to be confident and get in the correct position as it can be lost before turning for home.
There are horses arriving in better form than my selection, but I think he definitely has place claims at the very least.
Havanagreattime 4/1 (1pt) – Windsor 6.33
Probably the race of the day comes at Windsor in the form of this Class 3 6f sprint race. I think you can give nearly every runner in this race a chance of getting the win, which is why the odds are good throughout the market.
I was tempted by Aramis Grey as she is such a consistent filly, has won at this track before and arrives in decent form, but I think this race is crying out for an improver to blow them all away, and that is why I've sided with Havanagreattime. Richard Hughes' four-year-old must have some progression remaining from a mark of 90, based on the performance from Newbury last time out. He was very impressive when he made all and won by over a length, recording a solid RPR in the process.
The form of that win at Newbury looks solid enough as it has produced a winner and three placed horses since. This is also deemed as a step back in grade to what he has been racing against in recent times. Last time out was a 0-95, today is a 0-90, and before that he has been contesting Class 2 races on the AW, acquitting himself well in the process.
He is drawn in Stall 1, which is ideal for making the running, and we see so often at Windsor that horses who grab the rail are so hard to beat.
GambleAware