It was remarkable how Day Of Grace managed to win at Thirsk.
I was prepared to turn off the stream when I saw she was off the bridle inside the first two furlongs. She started to pick up slightly when they turned for home, but still had a lot of ground to make up. Fair play to Tom and the filly, as the pair continued to roll and grind through the testing ground, and eventually won the race quite easily. Remarkable victory, and she has to be a filly to keep on side over longer trips on testing ground.
Loving Apprentice 7/1 (1pt) – Yarmouth 5.30
I can see why Thunder Star is fancied to go well in this race. He won it a couple of years ago and ran a decent race to do the back-to-back last year. He is on a good handicap mark and has evidently been laid out for this race, but on soft ground, I wanted to give Loving Apprentice a try over 5f for the first time.
The daughter of Tasleet has to prove she can win races over this trip and in this class of race. She has won twice, once in a maiden and the other in a Class 5 handicap. I believe she can take the step up in grade in her stride as she won the handicap in very taking fashion, and in the same breath, she showed plenty of speed to cope with the drop in trip.
Soft ground appears to be the key to her. She won her maiden on soft ground and bolted up on good to soft last time out. She is related to Adrian Keatley's progressive horse, Another Baar, who has been a revelation this season since moving to 5f. That horse has won four times in a row, so there could be plenty more to come over the minimum trip for Loving Apprentice.
The odds available on Loving Apprentice are a tad surprising. We know for a fact she handles the ground, so seeing 7/1 is baffling. I think you've got to ignore her latest run on the AW, as that is the second time she has underperformed on the AW, and that might not be a surface she is in love with.
Obito 11/4 (1pt) – Redcar 5.05
It's a bit strange to see David O'Meara's Ryka turning up for this race with him just running on the weekend. Seeing him turn up wouldn't be too strange, as he is a horse in great form, but seeing Danny Tudhope picking Obito is eye opening and enough for me to trust Danny with his judgement.
I think this race was always between the two O'Meara horses, but Danny should know which horse has the best chance of winning, so opting for the slightly bigger odds horse is surprising. The odds are much shorter than what they probably should be, and I think people will have caught on to what I have, and it would not surprise me if Obito goes off favourite.
The form of Obito isn't bad, and he ran well at Haydock to finish second to a very progressive horse.
GambleAware