Walking away with one winner from three selections wasn't what I had planned on Friday.
I thought Evenfall was going to win with ease, but you could tell that she still has plenty to learn mentally. She got to the front, and when she got there, she did very little. When the runner-up applied some pressure, she started to race again and put the race to bed for the second time.
Maire Rua was given a rough passage when she probably didn't need to. Colin Keane switched her on two occasions, and she lost momentum and ground when doing so. She was just over two lengths behind at the line, and I don't think the ride was the reason why she got beaten; I don't think she was even beating the winner.
Chantelle did beat Trio, who was ahead of her last time out, but she was also behind the other two runners in the race. I could handle Loblolly beating her, but seeing a 25/1 ahead of her seems a little baffling.
Scoville 5/2 – Newbury 2.35
I think that if there's a horse currently sitting on a handicap mark which is below their potential, it has to be Scoville.
I've seen enough of the other horses in this race to know that they are handicapped to the point where they have got very little margin for error. With Scoville, he is still unexposed, and I think he is better than his recent form figures would suggest.
The seventh-placed finish at Royal Ascot was actually a solid effort, and from that race, I think you can see the drop to seven furlongs working a treat. He's clearly got plenty of pace, but his stamina didn't quite last home at Ascot. Obviously, Ascot is a stiffer track than Newbury, but Newbury can often favour those that front-run.
In my head, Scoville will use his pace and hopefully not see a rival.
Daryzan EVS – Deauville 1.33
The horse I wanted to take out of the French Derby was Daryzan. Not just because I tipped him up and my eyes were constantly watching him, but I think he was given a very difficult task, given where he raced from.
He was held in a pocket towards the rear under Barzalona (shock), and was never winning from the position he was put in. He was making his second run in a French Derby, so the odds were already stacked against him, but I thought that when he got in the clear, he showed a lot of promise.
Montreal was the front-runner in the French Derby, and I think he managed to finish in the position he did due to being prominent. Do I think he is better than Daryzan? no. However, it would be extremely foolish to ignore that he is trained by the G.O.A.T, and he could easily be better than a front-runner. In my opinion, Daryzan is an Arc contender, whether it's this year or next, so for that reason alone I've got to think he'll win this.
GambleAware