Lazzat was the obvious pick at Chantilly, and despite him being a short price, I thought he deserved to be odds-on.
Back in Listed company, it seemed like a no-brainer backing Lazzat as he is a Group 1 horse and dropping down several grades meant he would find it much easier, which was proven to be right.
The Yellow Clay did not jump great, and that is probably an understatement. He was a faller at the final hurdle when already beaten. I think he got up and is okay, but I'm not 100% sure on that. If you know more about this, let me know in the comments.
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French Master 15/8 – Newmarket 4.05
With French Master, you're going off potential and given that this race doesn't appear to be the strongest, I think he is worth the chance.
The top weight has a good pedigree, but doesn't look like a standout Godolphin horse, and has already been beaten twice at Meydan during the Winter/Spring. I think the main threats are the horses towards the bottom of the weights, mainly Knightswood as he is on a good handicap mark and won last time out, but that form isn't the strongest, so this race looks open for a horse who is ahead of the handicapper, and is lightly raced and French Master fits the bill.
The John & Thady Gosden trained runner has a quality pedigree, being by Frankel and out of a Listed-winning mare who has produced Mohaafeth, who is a full-brother to French Master. This horse is bred to be a Class 1 animal, so he should be winning races like this with relative ease before trying harder races. He is 2/3 in his short career to date, and made light work of a novice race at Kempton last October, when winning by 6L as the 8/13F. We didn't learn a lot from that run, apart from the fact he stayed the trip quite nicely, and even though he isn't amazing odds today, his price could also look silly come 4.10pm as he does have the unexposed profile.
Rockin' The Boat 13/2 EW (4pl) – Newmarket 5.15
David Menuisier is a trainer who often goes under the radar, probably due to the amount of quality trainers we have in the UK in the flat scene, but whenever he books Ryan Moore, it deserves a second look.
Rockin' The Boat is making his handicap debut, and seeing Ryan on board is a big indicator of a big run being on the cards. Ryan's record when riding for David is 4/12, with a further five runner-up finishes in the last five seasons, recording a profit of +13.50 to level stakes. That is an outstanding record, and proves that they mean business when partnering up together.
This horse has shown glimpses of ability in his three qualifying runs, but we never really see the full ability until horses enter the handicaps, as it's the aim of the game to keep the handicap mark down. This horse's pedigree suggests he will be better than his opening mark of 80, being out of a Group 1 winning mare on fast ground and being by Acclamation.
His form as a juvenile suggests he is a good horse, with the third-placed finish to Flight being the standout piece of form, with that horse now being rated 100.
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