Two B Tanned managed to bounce back to form at Nottingham after a 44-day break.
She was evidently very fatigued when she stopped her winning streak on the all weather the time before last. Prior to that, she was a winning machine and was enjoying the front-running tactics. Joe Fanning was the ideal jockey for today's race. He is mustard from the front, especially in small field races, as he is a very good judge of pace.
Thankfully, she got the win for us to get us a needed winner after two placed efforts on Monday.
Mrs Bagerran 7/2 (1pt) – Catterick 4.00
I do try and avoid Class 6 races when I can, but when racing isn't the best and the better quality races on the day are competitive, they can offer decent value.
The horse which caught my attention was Tracy Waggott's runner, Mrs Bagerran. She has been in good form the last two races, which isn't a big shock as he official rating went down to 46, and the form have been firing in winners throughout the season. She managed to win off her reduced mark, and then went close off a mark of 52. On her last run, she lost by a neck, which saw her lose in the final strides after William Pyle attempted to make all of the running. Her handicap mark has gone up 1lb for that recent effort, which is not enough to stop her from giving another bold bid at a track which should suit her.
She has raced at Catterick twice at the start of the season, both runs being well below her last two starts at Ripon and Musselburgh. For whatever reason, she is in much better form now. She has been given a good stall for front running tactics, being in drawn in stall 1. Tracy does very well at Catterick and is one of her closest tracks. William Pyle has been getting a fair few winners this year, and with him still being able to claim 3lbs is always a big help.
Sleeping Satellite 7/1 (0.5pt EW, 3pl) – Uttoxeter 4.08
Sleeping Satellite is not one of the strongest selections I'll ever put up, but in this race, I think he can bounce back to form.
A lot of horses are in good form, so it's dangerous to go against the grain. However, I don't think their form amounts to much. I am happy to take a chance on Sleeping Satellite, who is making her stable debut for Fergal O'Brien.
Fergal is normally up there with being one of the better stables during the summer months. He had a relatively quiet year last year, but he has started the new season really well, if you can ignore the last two weeks. His strike rate is well over 20% in both hurdles and chases, so I'm hoping he will have found the spark in his new recruit. This horse was previously with Donald McCain and was over fences last year. He ran well on his first start over fences, but was then disappointing. Donald hasn't been as prolific over the last couple of years from what we've been used to, so maybe the change in scenery will be what this lad needs.
I think it's a positive spin that they are dropping him in trip and going back to hurdles. This is a completely different angle to the races he was running last year, so they might have found the key to his success.
GambleAware