I'm not going to delve into Wednesday's racing, as both runners were total rubbish, and I expected a lot more.
Redorange 9/1 (0.5pt EW, 6pl) – York 2.20
Rossa Ryan is the main rider for Clive Cox, so seeing him not making the journey up to York is a bit of a concern, but Ryan Moore is a cracking replacement.
Ryan is 4/12 when riding for Clive in the last five years, so it's a very good jockey booking based on those stats, and the fact that he is the best jockey on the planet. My selection has a bit to prove off a layoff and off a fairly high handicap mark, but I think we could see a good level of improvement from him this season.
I thought he ran very well in a lot of races last year, especially the race at Royal Ascot. He finished second in that race and was slightly behind Hammer The Hammer, but he was drawn on the wrong side that day. All of the others horses who finished best in that race were drawn on the better side, so it was a huge effort from Redorange.
Today, he is drawn next to Hammer The Hammer, who could be a pace angle, and I think he could follow him and get a nice run through.
Sea Force 10/3 (1pt) – York 2.55
In what appears to be a competitive race on paper, I only fancied a couple in this race, but Sea Force was my idea of a winner.
William Haggas targets every major York meeting they put on through the year, and I think horses like Sea Force improve with age, and they keep progressing when it looks like they've hit their ceiling.
Based on what he has achieved, it might appear that Sea Force has hit his boundary, but he is still lightly raced. William had a similar horse win a good handicap yesterday, and even though that doesn't mean the same is going to happen for Sea Force, it goes to show Haggas is very good with these types of horses.
Revival Power 4/1 (1pt) – York 4.40
When I tipped up Revival Power last year, and she won for me, I thought she could potentially turn into a Group 1 performer with age. Since I believe that, I have to be backing her against this type of opposition.
It's going to be a risk backing her when she carries a penalty, and it's her seasonal reappearance, but based on what I saw from her, if she's fit, she wins.
This track suits her best. She is an extremely quick filly, and considering she has a very strong pedigree built for this venue, it's hard to ignore her.
My main concern is the slightly slower ground due to some showers we've had recently. Her sister, Winter Power, was a winner on soft ground, so we might get away with the expected good to soft.
GambleAware