Rizz will be out of action for about a week, but Cairnzy will step in to cover until he returns.
I missed Rizzel's two selections on Wednesday, so I can’t comment on how they performed.
I was a big fan of his main selection Saddadd, and I too was confident he would take the step up in class with no issues. He managed a third-place finish in the end, but I’d assume connections will feel a bit disappointed with the result.
I was due to start covering tomorrow, so tonight’s cover was a tad last-minute, so I haven’t had much time to look at the cards. We do have some great racing on offer, particularly at Newmarket on the flat. My sole selection is a tad short, but I do think it’ll shorten overnight, and I thought the price at present was potentially decent value.
Distant Storm 6/5 – Newmarket 3.35
This year's renewal of the Tattersalls Stakes looks quite interesting. There are plenty in this field with a chance at bigger odds, and I was initially tempted by the Ed Walker-trained Noble Champion. There was a lot to like about his debut performance, and the combination of Kieran Shoemark and trainer has paid punters handsomely this term. With that said, I still thought Distant Storm was the horse to be on, and his price of 6/5 suggests he is the one to beat. As previously mentioned, I expect the odds to potentially shorten, so I do think the 6/5 is potentially okay value.
Trainer Charlie Appleby has a great record in this race, and he certainly holds another strong hand this time round with Distant Storm and Catullus.
There was clearly a lot to like about Distant Storm as he fetched 1,900,000 at the breeze-ups, and he wasted no time in repaying connections by getting off the mark on debut in a now decent-looking maiden. The form of that maiden looks particularly strong, producing six winners, with one of them including Constitution River, who has since gone on to win a Group 2.
Connections then pitched Distant Storm into the Group 3 Acomb Stakes at York back in August. He was highly fancied to win that contest when sent off as an 11/10 favourite but had to settle for a third-place finish. He finished just over four lengths behind the eventual winner, but I thought he did well to finish as close as he did considering he raced extremely keen throughout the contest.
I’m hoping he can bounce back to winning ways here, as he definitely looks an exciting horse for the future, but he will definitely need to settle better for that to happen. Given he has only had the two runs to date, I expect him to come on for the recent outing, and he should have learnt plenty. I’m hoping Buick can pop him out prominently behind the pace with some cover and keep things simple.
GambleAware