Timeform highlight their best bets on Saturday in the form of a ratings choice, a big improver and a Flag to note.
The Ratings Choice
Midnight Affair – 14:05 Beverley
Richard Fahey’s Midnight Affair looks the clear pick on form in one of Beverley’s highlights of the season, the Hilary Needler Trophy for two-year-old fillies. A sister to smart colt Rhythm Master, Midnight Affair must be held in some regard as she was sent to Newmarket for her debut where she was sent off at 5/1 for a valuable fillies’ maiden.
The George Boughey newcomer Soprano was well touted beforehand and duly made a winning start but Midnight Affair shaped with plenty of promise a length and three quarters back in second.
In fact, given a clearer run, she’s likely to have gone close herself, but had to wait for a gap before being switched and then finished with running left. Midnight Affair looks sure to improve on that initial effort and will be hard to beat.
The Big Improver
Robusto – 17:05 Catterick
Robusto looks just the type of three-year-old middle-distance handicapper that Sir Mark Prescott tends to get the most out of and it will be a surprise if there aren’t more races to be won with the son of Churchill.
Three runs last year offered little in the way of immediate encouragement, but it was always likely to be a different story once Robusto went handicapping over longer trips and he didn’t disappoint when reappearing over a mile and a half at Salisbury late last month.
Sent off at even money, Robusto made all the running and was in command a furlong out, with the placed horses, Graham and Cloud Angel, closing him down only late on to be beaten less than a length. Cloud Angel meets Robusto on 5 lb better terms here but Robusto is sure to have learnt more from that run and can follow up.
Time Lock looked a promising filly for Juddmonte and Harry & Roger Charlton’s stable when beaten a neck by Haskoy, in the same ownership, in the Listed Galtres Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting last August. Haskoy has already gone on to better things, and there’s every reason to think Time Lock will follow suit.
She routed her field in a novice at Newmarket earlier last season but didn’t meet expectations when a beaten favourite in a Listed race at Goodwood on her reappearance last month, finding race-fit rival Luisa Casati a length too good. A bit too keen for her own good on her first start for nine months, Time Lock’s stable wasn’t in the best of form at the time but has been firing in the winners more recently.
A rangy filly with scope for further improvement, Time Lock can resume her progress in this Group Three contest with Ryan Moore riding her for the first time.
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