The Resdev Roman couldn't follow up on her recent victory and put in a shoddy performance at Hamilton.
She was weak in the market and nearly triple in price, which is not a positive sign. She ran how the market said she would.
Annie Edson Taylor made sure we weren't walking away empty-handed on Sunday, and won with plenty to spare. Sam James would have had the pick of the winner and the Bethell horse, and he chose correctly. She loves these conditions, and went through the race like the best handicapped horse.
Stormy Impact 4/1 – Hamilton
I've backed Stormy Impact a couple of times in the last eighteen months, and he delivered a good win in the three-year-old Epsom Dash handicap last year. He went for the bigger race this year, and ran a respectable race despite not winning it.
He enjoys slow ground, and given that his form outside of the Epsom race earlier in the season hasn't been the greatest, his handicap mark has fallen to an attractive mark.
On a flat track, I think he is better over six furlongs, but with testing conditions and a stiff uphill finish, five furlongs at Hamilton will be fine for him. He has gone close off much higher marks in the past, and with Warren Fentiman removing 3lbs off his rating of 86, I fancy him to win this race.
Due to the small number of runners, he might not get the pace angle he likes, which is the only downfall of this race. He does well coming from off the pace and putting in a late surge, but in races like this where the field numbers are low, it can be a problem, even in sprint races.
Bay Breeze 5/1 – Hamilton 5.02
In a small-field event, I don't understand how the favourite is 15/8 and the second favourites are 5/1. I feel like the odds on Bay Breeze should be closer to 3/1, and he's simply overpriced.
In a class 6 race like this, it pays dividends to back horses who know how to get the job done. Bay Breeze fits that bill and has won eight times in his long career to date. He gets on well on soft ground, so he is likely to prefer today's heavy ground more than a lot of the other horses in the race.
Last time out was an encouraging effort and a return to form, and if he is able to build on that, he should not be the price he currently is.
GambleAware