Even though Capichera was beaten, I have no complaints, as she was defeated by the better horse.
It's been a rarity that I've not had to comment about a jockey's ride on a selection. I can't say that Kieran Shoemark did anything wrong. He had the horse positioned in a good enough spot, and if she was good enough she would have won.
When I was looking through the race, I did think the Oisin Murphy booking on the Charlie Fellowes runner was eye-catching and it proved to be that way. The winner did it easily and was obviously well ahead of the handicapper.
Pearl Eye 9/4 (1pt) – Ayr 2.42
There are horses arriving in good form, others with solid course form, but the untouched handicap mark from last time out is enough to give a chance to Pearl Eye.
Pearl Eye ran over a mile at this track last time out, which was his first start in 193 days and his first run for Jim Goldie. I thought that was a very solid effort, and knowing that Jim has a good strike rate with improving horses from other yards, there's a strong case to be made that he can progress with fitness now on his side.
His handicap mark of 73 makes him dangerous to overlook, especially with Lauren Young removing a further 5lbs. His form for a previous yard when he was close to Indalo is a good piece of form to focus on. He was running off a mark of 84 that day, and the winner is now rated 98 (rated 81 at the time).
Influential 5/1 (1pt) – Kempton 7.30
The in form Kaaranah is an obvious attractive horse to back for this race on the back of two successes. However, he is a nine-year-old, and even though he was on a good handicap mark and is in good form, I think he is still prone to an improver. I believe the improver in this race is Influential.
It doesn't look obvious on paper that Influential is miles ahead of the handicapper, and I don't think that's the case. He is probably better than what we've seen from him so far, and I think there's substance to his form. He was second over course and distance last time out. The winner was ahead of a horse who was recently second to Helm Rock in a Class 4, so if you look deep enough, there's good form.
My fancy is lightly raced, and is from a yard who is in great form and ridden by a jockey who is riding with supreme confidence.
GambleAware