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Neo King was given a very tough task from a ride from the rear.
The horse seemed to struggle with the early pace, but knowing the horse stays the trip well, you have to have him up with the pace.
I mentioned that the jockey was a big concern, and for the foreseeable future, I will not be backing a horse with Collier in the saddle.
The horse stayed on at the finish when he had no chance of getting close, but showed enough to believe that he can go close in other national races.
Koenigsstern 10/3 (1pt) – Fontwell 1.25
I don't understand why the favourite is Atreides for this race.
He was a maiden of 21 races going into last time out, so how could you trust him to two races in a row?
Not only that, the race he won was a shocking race, whereas this time it looks a lot tougher.
I've tipped up Koenigsstern a couple of times last season, and I thought we were unlucky not to get a win when tipping him up.
He is returning from a 200+ day layoff, but Nick Gifford has had winners recently, so you'd like to think his horses are in good form first time out.
This horse managed to win at this track over a furlong shorter off a one-pound lower mark in December last year, so he is weighted to go very close at the least.
Slievehill 7/2 (1pt) – Musselburgh 2.15
I am always a huge fan of horses travelling a long way, as it shows the confidence to go and plunder a pot.
David Jeffreys doesn't have a prolific strike rate at tracks like Musselburgh and the other Scottish tracks, but he does often walk away with wins.
He has one runner at the track on Monday, which is another positive factor.
Slievehill is also making his handicap debut, and is being put up to 3m after running over much shorter in his qualifying runs.
We haven't seen a great deal of ability in his three runs over hurdles, but tackling longer trips might be the making of him. He is a two-time PTP winner, so staying the trip is something we shouldn't have to worry about.
GambleAware
First race of the day
My dad Tom ew