Saturday racing is always the toughest, as the races are super competitive, and I think we did okay on the main thread with one winner from two selections.
By okay, obviously, it's not the best having a 5/2 winner and a loser combined, but the loser was close at York.
Humidity is a lovely horse, and it was nice to see him come back from such a lengthy absence to win at Newmarket. When James Doyle stuck into him, and he obliged and went upsides the leader, I knew we had the race in the bag. He has such a big stride, and he started to pull a couple of lengths clear at the line. I think we'll see him at Champions Day, unless it's a bit too soon after a lengthy break.
Glyfada 11/2 – Naas 3.05
I cannot believe Faiyum is the favourite for this, as she is not consistent enough to warrant that position. The main issue is that the rest of the field aren't proven at this level, so the bookies sort of have to put the Juddmonte horse as the favourite.
Because she is 9/4, I will welcome that with open arms as an excuse to take her on and find value in the race. Princess Child is a solid alternative; she likes this ground and was ahead of the favourite last year in a similar race. However, I think there is more value to be found, and Glyfada was the one I liked the most.
She is a very unexposed filly and has won two of her four races in her career. We haven't seen her since her fifth-placed finish at Royal Ascot, which means her fitness is going to be a question, but I'll take that risk.
She isn't proven at this Class 1 Listed level, but I think this looks like the perfect race to prove her worth and bridge that gap to Class 1 level. The form of her Royal Ascot fifth looks solid, and even though she didn't win when she was the favourite, we know how hard it is to win big-field (30-runner) handicaps at that meeting.
The winner at Royal Ascot has since finished fourth in a Group 1 in America at Del Mar, and the runner-up was a winner in a Group 3. Some of the others in that race haven't boosted their form, but that's the nature of the beast of those races; knowing that the two who were first and second have left a good impression.
GambleAware