The victory of Muhaarar in the Gimcrack Stakes on Saturday gave us a profit on all four days of the York Ebor meeting. We finished the week over 30 points in profit after Dutch Connection (16-1), Tapestry (12-1), Sole Power (7-2) and Pale Mimosa (7-2).
The racing is not up to the same quality this week but there are a couple of interesting handicaps at Epsom on Tuesday that may be worth a flutter.
The old expression about following over cliffs springs to mind looking at the form for Mission Approved. His last six races have yielded three seconds and three thirds and he is likely to be a popular choice yet again in the six-furlong John Akehurst Handicap.
Formerly with Sir Michael Stoute, the gelding is now with Luca Cumani and almost popped up at 20-1 at Goodwood last time out. He certainly did not appear to shirk the issue when battling to the line and was unlucky to be beaten a short-head by Barnet Fair. The handicapper has put him up 3lbs for that run which must be frustrating for connections.
Huntsmans Close was not far behind him while Duke Cosimo won a very competitive race at Ripon last time. Both should go well along with track specialist Swiss Cross but I’ll keep faith with the luckless Mission Approved.
In the closing race I’m going to go with Roger Charlton’s Marzante. The grey ran a cracking race when narrowly beaten by Cherry Princess on his first outing for three years. He set a modest pace and looked like being swallowed up early in the straight but kept finding extra all the way to the line. Cherry Princess arrived fast and late and Marzante looked unlucky not to hold on.
The handicapper has put him up 3lbs for his troubles but he should run well for George Baker who has impressed me this season. Cherry Princess re-opposes and Gabrial The Thug should also pose a threat. Perhaps the biggest threat is the so-called “Bounce factor”. Many believe that horses running well after a lengthy layoff could suffer a bounce effect next time and run poorly. Marzante would be a prime candidate but, not knowing the reasons for his lengthy absence, I am prepared to take a chance.
It is difficult to get very excited about the rest of the card but hopefully the racing will pick up during the week.
Mission Approved 3.25 @4-1 Betfair
Marzante 5.05 @9-2 BetVictor
