Third week of posting, with three further horses to add to the list. Unfortunately, it was a bit disappointing with Golden Town running pretty terribly on handicap debut at Newmarket last Saturday. He got no cover, was too keen and didn’t get home. He’s much better than that and although he’s one to avoid for now, perhaps he’s worth keeping an eye on when guaranteed a good pace and cover. He may also improve for gelding. But I’ve little doubt that we are yet to see the best of him. Le Deluge also ran at the weekend and ran respectably in a fairly good race. He saw a lot of daylight on the outside but still showed some promise, and the comments I made about him winning when the market suggests he will, look to be spot on.
Born To Surprise – Lee Carter (5yo)
It’s fair to say that anyone watching his last race at the start of April put him in their notebooks, but the 5yo surely has a race or two in him this season after catching the eye on more than just that occasion at Lingfield. His run in the Spring Mile at Doncaster also caught the eye, as he made ground late after seeing plenty of daylight. He didn’t stand much of a chance of winning such a race but races such as a 0-85 or a 0-90 handicap are well within his compass, especially considering he was rated as high as 97 when under the care of Michael Bell. I’m not a big fan of Amir Quinn and I’d be much more interested in seeing what Born To Surprise can do when he receives the handling of another jockey, he looks one to bare in mind for the future. A race over seven furlongs is his preference and when he gets another chance over that trip on turf, and with a good pace guaranteed, he’ll be a realistic betting proposition.
Gworn – Ed Dunlop (4yo)
I’ve read some comments on Social Media that Gworn has “gone at the game” (or words to that effect) after two sub-par efforts on turf this year. Sandwiched in between was a fair effort on the all-weather but I do feel that this one can find his form again sometime in the near future and should be capable of picking up a handicap on turf. Gworn handles most ground, having wins on soft and good ground and obviously handles the all-weather too. He looked pretty progressive towards the end of last season, a handicap victory at Haydock off a mark of 88 giving an indication that better was to come in 2014. Although that hasn’t happened yet, he can be excused his reappearance in the Spring Mile at Doncaster (tough race) and his latest turf spin at Ripon, caught my eye somewhat. I don’t think he was given a particularly good ride, given a lot to do and angled out wide. He wasn’t given the most forceful of rides either and I’m simply going to give Gworn another chance at some point in the very near future. Gelding could bring about some improvement considering he’s still an entire and although he may well be a little “soft” in the finish, as shown by his effort at Wolverhampton in early April, a big-field and a strong pace could mean that the race falls into his lap.
Eium Mac – Neville Bycroft (5yo)
This could well be the lowest rated horse I’ll put in the list as he’s currently only rated 51 but I long thought last season that Eium Mac could pick up a race and although things didn’t work out that way, he’s from a family that get better as they get older and as long as he doesn’t fall through the bottom floor of the handicap, I’d be amazed if we didn’t see much better from this one. He showed plenty of glimpses of ability last year, with runs at Ripon and Thirsk catching the eye, staying on nicely from the back of the field. Although,I got it completely wrong when he ran next time when upped in trip. I was sure that 1m2f would suit, but he just didn’t get home and he ran atrociously next time too (albeit given too much to do).
Although he could just be not cut out for the horse racing game, Eium Mac has shown enough in a couple of his races to suggest that a low-grade handicap could come his way. It was disappointing that he didn’t show more on his last two starts in 2013 but I’ll back my judgement that something more will happen this year. The family generally get better with age, it’s interesting that he’s been kept in training and will likely go off a very big price on his first start back. Neville Bycroft is able to get one ready first time up and Eium Mac should be worth supporting at huge odds once he shows up again.
