Passing Pleasure decided he was going to throw in a horrendous round of jumping at Newcastle.
For 50% of his fences, he wasn't on a good stride, or just wasn't fluent. With every mistake, it takes away a little bit of stamina, and that's the reason why he lost. He jumped the final four fences in the home straight perfectly, but his petrol gauge was already ticking from his earlier mistakes.
Green Bonnet was given no chance because of his lack of fluency over every hurdle, and because his jockey didn't look interested. The jockey let the horse go through the field, and every horse went past him before he started to ask the question. It didn't make a difference, but I just thought that looked strange, and a hint that they were not worried about today. The drift also suggested my final comment.
Shadowfax Of Rohan 2/1 (2pt) – Catterick 3.10
Unless Kelijoe can make a good impression on his chasing debut, I think this race is between Shadowfax Of Rohan and Marty McFly, both horses on the opposite side of the weights.
Of the two, I think the bottom weight is the one to focus on. He made a winning chasing debut for Patrick Neville, which was also his stable debut. Patrick has done well with horses like this over the years, and the fact that he has got an instant level of improvement suggests there's plenty more to come.
That was his first run in 248 days, and he won handily over today's course and distance. The level of form isn't going to set the world alight, but neither has the top weight. However, he was strong in the betting, which shows they knew that he was well-handicapped for his chasing debut. I'd be disappointed if there wasn't more to come.
Marty McFly beat Diamond De Vindency by four lengths. I recently tipped up the runner-up; he was shocking and refused to jump one of the early fences into his race. Surely, Shadowfax Of Rohan can make use of the weight difference and beat the top weight. If they let him make all, like they did last time, I think this race could be over very early into the race.
True Measure 11/2 (1pt) – Catterick 4.40
I think this bumper race is a very interesting race. We have some good bumper yards sending runners to this race, as well as a rare UK runner from Irish trainer E Sheehy.
I'm typing this out before the odds have been compiled, but I'd like to imagine we'll get some good value on True Measure. He is making his bumper debut for Toby Bulgin, who is a respected small trainer, known for his PTP horses.
Toby has returned to rules racing over the last couple of years, and has shown he is still more than capable of training winners. He has a solid strike rate in bumper races, and he recently had a four-year-old son of Nathaniel, which is ironic given that True Measure is also a son of Nathaniel.
Tom Cannon has a solid record when riding for Toby, making 2/4 and having another horse placed inside the top three. Tom has made the decision to go to Catterick for one ride in the lucky last. I can't imagine that Tom would have made the trip if the horse had no chance, so I think some conversation has been had and they fancy their lad.
GambleAware