The Cambridgeshire, one of the biggest betting races of the season, takes place on Saturday and Ian Ogg has a 20/1 ante-post fancy.
Back in the day when Saturday's Dubai Duty Free Handicap was known by a different sponsor's name, it used to be a very significant trial for the Betfred Cambridgeshire.
That influence appears to have waned following the (relatively) recent reshuffle of the racing calendar with the two contests separated by just a week but that didn't stop the layers slashing the odds of winner Brorocco who is among the 14/1 fourth co-favourites with Sky Bet.
The Newbury race threw up three consecutive winners of the Cambridgeshire between 2004 and 2006 but none of the three won the 10 furlong heat, finishing ninth, second and third. Although a valuable entity in its own right, it often appeared as though the race was used as a sighter for the Newmarket heat and that could still be the case despite there being just a week's gap nowadays.
Last year's Cambridgeshire was won by the 104 rated Spark Plug with the 9/1 favourite BANKSEA finishing some 14 lengths adrift having seemingly failed to get home under a patient ride.
Banksea remains among the entries for this year's renewal, in which he'll race from a 5lb higher mark, and is priced at 20/1 by Sky Bet at the time of writing yet it's hard to believe that his chance is demonstrably worse this time around.
The four-year-old certainly doesn't come into the race in any worse form having caught the eye behind Brorocco, finishing fifth despite meeting with some interference in the closing stages, while a line can be put through his previous outing, his first since Royal Ascot, as he failed to act on the soft ground.
He was by no means an unlucky loser on Saturday but if Luca Cumani had left a little to work on with this coming Saturday in mind, then his performance can be viewed in a much more positive light and not least because it went a long way to proving his stamina.
You could take issue with that given the Lawman gelding won over 10 furlongs at Pontefract last season but he has shown much of his best form since over a mile and can race keenly; he has, however, looked much more like the finished article since being gelded over the winter and Sara Cumani pointed to that operation being key following his valuable win at Newbury in April.
He is still, conceivably, open to improvement after 14 career starts and just four since being gelded, especially now he's being stepped back up to the sort of trip that he's bred to relish and he's well worth a small investment at the prices available.
Key statistics from the last 10 renewals of the Betfred Cambridgeshire
- Winners have been aged three (3), four (2), five (4) and six
- Winners have carried between 8-4 and 9-9 with seven between 8-7 and 9-2
- Winners have been rated between 87 and 104 with eight between 95 and 104
- Winners have been priced between 5/1 and 40/1 with eight returned at 16/1 or shorter and two sent off favourite
- Nine winners finished in the first five on their preceding start; two finished first and carried penalties
- Nine winners had run since the beginning of August
- Eight winners had won a race during the current season
- Nine winners had won or been placed in a Class 2 handicap or better, the exception was unraced at that level
- Five winners had either won or been placed on either the July Course or the Rowley Mile Course
- Five winners had had 14 or fewer career starts whilst four had raced between 21 and 26 times
- Seven winners have been drawn 11 or higher