At least Friday's runners came and did their job after a couple of near misses the last couple of days.
The Judmonte double of Kassaya and Windlord both managed to get the job done, but didn't do it in great fashion.
Obviously, with how things have been going, complaining about how a horse wins it not something I'm going to sit here and do. I do think they would be better than what they showed, but they got the job done and that's all I can ask for.
West Acre 8/1 (0.5pt EW, 4pl) – Sandown 1.50
I put up West Acre in one of the Royal Ascot Lucky 15 threads, and it didn't go too well. It was his first run back in the UK after a decent stint in the Middle East, so I think he might have needed the run.
With that recent run under his belt, I think it could be his time to shine back on the UK turf. He was a decent horse before going over to the Middle East, winning a couple of sprints on the AW. However, his spring campaign took his form to a new level. He managed to win a Group 2 and Group 3 when over there and was very fancied to win the Group 1 over 6f, but that was a step too far in trip and level.
His times at Meydan were very quick, and that was the selling point when I tipped him up in the Group 1 at Royal Ascot. He was off the bridle quite early, and I think he was a tad ring rusty. This is a big step down in grade and is arguably easier than his Meydan wins. He has been given a wide stall, which is normally not ideal, but at Sandown this is great. If you break slow from the low draw you will struggle to get a run, but from the wide stall it allows us to get a handy position wide.
Classic 6/1 (0.5pt EW, 4pl) – Sandown 2.25
A previous selection of mine from a couple of weeks ago is Classic. That day, we were given a rare bad ride by Ryan Moore. Nine times out of ten, Classic would have won that race, so I have to give him another chance.
It's not strange to see that Ryan Moore has jumped ship and got on the Michael Bell horse, who was fourth at Royal Ascot behind My Cloud. That is a very strong piece of form, and he'll likely be the favourite. However, if you take that form for what it is, the fifth-placed horse was Urban Lion. That horse was 2lbs heavier and only a neck behind. The same horse was the winner of the Sandown race that Classic should have won, but Ryan didn't get a clear run. On the collateral form, you have to believe these two horses are closely matched. Classic's handicap mark hasn't been touched for his recent efforts, but he is 10lbs lighter than the Michael Bell horse.
Classic was second in his race from last time out 12 months ago and then came to this race where he didn't quite deliver. This time around he is running off a much lower mark, and I think he deserves another chance.
GambleAware