I didn't have the time to complete Saturday's Lucky 15 bet, so Cairnzy filled in.
He walked away with no wins, with many of them running well below expected. Warrant Holder went the closest with a second-place finish to the Godolphin favourite.
Thanks Angel 11/2 – Hamilton 3.43
Not every offspring of the mare, Thanks, has turned into great horses, so backing this horse just on the back of a strong pedigree isn't enough. Thanks Angel ran well on debut to finish third to the multiple group 1 winning filly Whirl, but things haven't gone to plan since.
She hasn't been on the track too often, but I think they have been waiting for some bad ground so that she can enjoy what should be ideal ground.
I do rate Adrian Keatley as a very good trainer, so I think he can get her to bounce back to form in this autumn period of soft ground, now tackling handicaps.
Pisanello 7/2 – Hamilton 4.13
From the rides I've seen in recent weeks, Danny Tudhope has given some horses some stinkers. Hopefully, he doesn't do us dirty with a bad ride on Pisanello.
This horse is getting on in age, but he is ridiculously well handicapped and loves soft ground. He was intended to run at Ayr yesterday, but didn't run due to the ‘ground', which is total nonsense, and they obviously believed that this was the easier opportunity.
His form has slowly got better as the season has progressed, so it looks like the right time to jump on.
Impressor 9/2 – Hamilton 4.43
Another old horse in Impressor caught my eye for Sunday's racing. Similar comments can be applied to Impressor from the above lines about Pisanello.
Impressor is very good on testing ground, so he has to be a player on this surface off his reduced handicap mark.
He went close last time out at Doncaster on good ground, so returning to soft ground at a track he has course and distance form over looks like a winning formula. I think we've got a few horses to worry about, but mainly the bottom weight who arrives in great form with a runner-up finish and wins from his last two starts.
Dragon Icon 11/2 – Southwell 3.07
Dragon Icon might be a couple of pounds too high in the handicap, but you can't argue against his form in recent history. He is better on the AW, as his record would suggest, so his run in July on turf can be ignored. Since then, he has finished third on two occasions on the AW, and that form definitely is up there with being the strongest in this race.
He finished third in a Class 2 last time out, so a return to today's Class 4 race should help him out. He went close off this mark in a Class 4 at Kempton the time before last, so he is more than capable of winning this if getting a clear run in a congested field.
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