Horses to follow: Trackside Live team with horses for My Stable

Woroodd (Ed Walker)

August 30, Sandown - Download The BetMGM App Handicap

In a field of experienced handicappers, Worood was a little different; off the social scene for a while and invited to a party which was all a bit much.

A dual winner of a maiden and novice at Thirsk and Windsor in May, the daughter of Dark Angel had been given some time off the track and was making her belated handicap debut off a reasonable mark of 85. She wasn’t unfit, but she’d come on; she wasn’t boiling over, but she’d improve for the slightly keen edge being taken off - so the resulting sixth, having travelled well for a long way, was probably a fair reflection of her appearance.

She didn’t shape like the ground was particularly an issue, or that the distance was wrong - simply a filly who will show improved form in a similar seven-furlong handicap next time, now she’s got back in the groove after a summer holiday.

Oceans Four (Brian Meehan)

August 30, Sandown - Group 3 Solario Stakes

So many stories to come out of the Solario and Publish didn’t even run! It turned into a thriller of a finish with A Bit Of Spirit, Humidity and Oceans Four matching stride for stride in the dying moments and it appears inevitable that the performance of Oceans Four might be ignored in the aftermath of the subsequent steward’s room drama, where Brian Meehan’s charge was demoted from second to third.

The son of Zoustar made an instant impression in the preliminaries: a relaxed gait, lovely demeanour and a physical which promises an exciting three-year-old in the making. Half-brother Blatent was good enough to place in the Italian 2000 Guineas at three and this colt just has a bit of something about him - Brian Meehan could have a nice horse on his hands.

Focus is going to be on the unlucky Humidity, who received a slight bump from Oceans Four in the closing stages but that view could be a touch short-sighted. The latter was only having his third career start, stepping into deeper waters than he’d ever tried and there looks to be plenty more to come.

Esna (Brian Meehan)

August 30, Sandown - Tattersalls £40,000 EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes

There was a bit of pressure on the Sandown card to deliver some lovely horses to follow and when a raft of 19 non-runners appeared, it was starting to look like an uphill struggle. Yet, it was little trouble finding a nice filly in the valuable maiden, and in fact, more than one was in contention for horse-to-follow honours. This week’s column might be a little Brian Meehan-heavy but we are unapologetic for drawing your attention to Esna, who finished a strong second to favourite Deedaydiva on her racecourse debut.

A lot of Brian Meehan’s fillies have a certain look to them; big, scopey sorts who tend to come to the racecourse well-schooled and well-managed. Esna fitted the profile, a very fit daughter of Starman, who is throwing all sorts of shapes and sizes with no obvious stamp.

You don't need the team to tell you that Esna looks a sure-fire winner next time - the way she travelled through the race, despite a lack of experience, was a bit of a giveaway - but there were some good quality fillies behind her and the Meehan team appear to have some good three-year-old ammunition to go to war with in 2026.

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