The Lincoln form comes under scrutiny this weekend as several of the leading protagonists renew rivalry in the Newbury Spring Cup. Levitate came out on top at Town Moor from the fast finishing Global Village with Brae Hill just behind in third and Justonefortheroad fourth. Admittedly you covered all four with a large blanket and Chapter Seven (6th) wasn’t far away either. It could be argued that the form may not amount to much with such a bunched finish but there are reasons for believing otherwise.
It was the performance of Global Village that stood out for me. He was held up at the back by jockey Martin Lane and looked to have an impossible task two furlongs out. However, he picked up remarkably well and would have won in another stride. The eight-year-old had gone into a few notebooks when not gaining the clearest of runs in the Wolverhampton Lincoln Trial, eventually finishing sixth to Strictly Silver and Guest Of Honour. On that basis, he was a quietly fancied 14-1 shot in the Lincoln and produced a career best effort. It may seem unlikely that he would be improving at this stage of his career but he finished third in this race 12 months ago behind Captain Bertie and looks primed for another big run. The booking of Kieren Fallon suggests that he is strongly fancied on Saturday and the 11-1 available with Totesport looks good value.
There are plenty of dangers including Spring Mile winner Educate and a big field won’t make it easy for Fallon to weave his way through. Richard Fahey’s stable remains in fine form so you would expect Brae Hill and Justonefortheroad to be competitive once again but I will side with Global Village on this occasion.
I previewed the Scottish National last week and, as expected, most of the horses that ran at Aintree have been withdrawn. Two of my original selections have stood their ground with Quentin Collonges and Mr Moss advised at 14-1 and 20-1 respectively. At the time of writing it is still the plan to run Aurora’s Encore under his big weight but he could be withdrawn if the going turns soft.
The main racing story today is the retirement of Black Caviar. The mare has been retired to the paddocks having remained unbeaten in 25 races including the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer. The announcement came as a surprise to many and dashes hopes of seeing her return to Britain. When you consider the journey that she had to make, the injuries she sustained during the race and the fact that the jockey eased up too soon, her victory at the Royal meeting was no mean achievement. I think she was unfairly compared to Frankel by the racing press and did not receive the acclaim that she deserved that day. Both are now consigned to the history books as we look forward to some new stars on the racing scene.
Global Village 11-1 Newbury Spring Cup Totesport
