Vadinska didn't live up to the hype, but I don't think you should give up on her after her run yesterday.
Mikael Barzalona got plenty of pelters on social media for the ride he gave Vadinska. I can see why people aren't happy, but I don't think he did too much wrong.
She was very keen in the first furlong or two, so he made the decision to settle her well off the pace. In hindsight, she was probably too far off the pace, but he did get her to settle, and if he kept her wide or went forward with her, she probably would've been lit up. She tried to make up ground, but was quite green down the outside, but did stay on strongly.
I think she is the best horse in the race, and will be better for the experience.
Jumping For Joy 8/1 (1pt) – Brighton 4.10
Jumping For Joy has a very strange profile, but the recent transition to James Owen's stable gives me optimism that he is a horse who should be winning off his current handicap mark.
This horse ran twice in 2020 for Gary Moore and then wasn't seen since May of this year, meaning she was off the track for nearly five years! it's strange to see a horse return from such a huge layoff, especially when they are lightly raced and haven't shown much in their two runs prior to the return, but for some reason, new connections bought he,r and James Owen has been the trainer who has said he'll take her onboard.
James Owen has been one of the best up-and-coming trainers in recent years, and has a tremendous strike rate, especially with horses from other yards, so he must've seen something in this horse that suggests it's worthwhile bringing her back to racing, but also to his yard. She returned with an 8th/9 finish, heavily beaten and wasn't fancied in the market, but that was to be expected after being off the track for 1635 days. That run has meant she now has a handicap mark, which would've been the goal for this horse, and the handicapper has given her a mark of 51, which is nearly the basement mark you can get as a racehorse.
She has a decent pedigree, and has plenty of siblings in the family who have won races and won races at this trip. Four of her siblings have been rated between 85 and 100, so if she can showcase a fraction of that, she should be competitive in a race like this, where the majority are out of form and haven't shown much in a long time.
James can improve horses plenty, and with the form of his yard, today might be the time to jump on. Any strong money in the market would suggest a big run is on the cards, but I'd probably recommend waiting till the morning to see how the market settles before jumping on.
GambleAware