It was impressive that Never Just A Dream didn't settle, as they went at a ridiculous pace.
If you consider that Never Just A Dream only properly faded inside the final fifty or so yards, he did well. He pulled the arms of Alistair Rawlinson until he came under the pump two to three furlongs from home. They were trapping along at 44mph at spots, and the horse just wanted to go quicker. Once again, another very experienced, older horse not knowing how to relax. I've picked out a lot of them in recent times.
I was more disappointed in Talismans Time. I think it was stupid that the jockeys allowed Clifford Lee to get an easy time on the front, but Talismans Time was never going to catch him. He was very poor, and the fact that the second and third placed horses went past him with ease shows that.
Felicitas 13/8 (2pt) – Salisbury 4.30
If you can take the form of Felicitas as gospel, she should be a shade of odds-on for this contest. I'm in the camp that she is the best horse in this race, and she is a good price at 13/8.
I think in races like this, I try to overcomplicate matters to try and find ‘value'. I was tempted by Regal Charm, but when you question whether she would finish second in a Musidora to a horse who was second in the Oaks, probably not. Felicitas then went to Chantilly for the French Oaks, and she ran an average race back in seventh place.
The form of that race is a mixture of good and bad outside of the favourite, who is a superstar. On the whole, when you've got horses franking the form no matter where they finished, I think it's a good piece of form. This is definitely a step down in grade from her previous two runs, and I'd like to think she has too much class for this field.
Kokbastau 6/5 (1pt) – Kempton 8.30
Based on the fact that Kokbastau was 9/4 at some stage, you've got to say that he is very short. In reality, he should never have been priced up at 9/4, and it wouldn't have lasted long, as they definitely made a mistake.
I'd make him more of a 6/4 shot than 6/5, but it's small margins. This is a tough race, and we will know a lot more about this horse come the end of it. He has run in novice races and has shown a good level of ability. I think he beat some good young horses at Southwell last time out, and if the runner-up isn't better than this field, I'd be amazed.
GambleAware