Epsom wasn't a happy hunting ground for me on Bank Holiday Monday.
Beauld As Brass was like his usual self, but broke from the stalls a lot worse than normal. After a start like that, it was always going to be difficult to win, as the winner was running from the front. Fair play to the winner; he won in great style.
Our Mighty Mo, who is a frontrunner, got a very strange ride by Sam James. This horse is best from the front, and Epsom is a perfect track to employ these tactics. For some reason, Sam pulled Our Mighty Mo back from the start and held him up. He was given a tough assignment from the position he was in, and the horse that ran from the front ran out a ready winner. Maybe things would have been different if he had ridden the horse like he should have.
Lesley's Boy 6/1 (1pt EW, 4pl) – Ripon 3.35
The first horse which caught my eye was the course specialist Mark's Choice. It wouldn't surprise me if he finished in the places, but at the age of nine, I think he has a lot to prove in Class 4 company. Of the rest, you can give a chance to many, but Lesley's Boy has been slowly running himself into form and might be able to capitalise on his current low handicap mark.
Lesley's Boy won two races as a two-year-old, but hasn't managed to win a race since. He won over today's course and distance on his third start, beating Easy Peeler, who has won since. After that win, he didn't handle the soft ground, but then bounced back at Newcastle to finish second in a handicap off a mark of 84.
For this season, he has been gelded and didn't run any race whatsoever on his first four starts, apart from a run at York, which was the best of a bad bunch of consecutive races. However, on his last two starts when contesting weaker races and having his handicap rating fall, we've seen a bit of a resurgence from Lesley's Boy. His run at Chester wasn't anything special, but he was never put in the race and was only 5L behind the winner. The main run to focus on is the run at Doncaster last time out. He finished third and was slightly more fancied in the market compared to his other runs this year. He seemed to like the first time visor, which was applied by Richard Fahey, and ran to an RPR which surpassed his current handicap mark, which hasn't happened since his Newcastle placed effort last year.
The handicapper continues to give him a chance. He reduced his handicap mark by a further pound, which isn't going to change a whole lot, but every pound matters. We know he enjoys this track, and the ground should be perfect for him. Oisin Orr is on board, so favours him above the other Fahey runner.
GambleAware