Our star daily duo of Rory Delargy and David Massey are back with a look ahead to the Bank Holiday racing.
0.5pts e.w. Love At Sea in 3.50 Warwick at 12/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3) - no lower
1pt e.w. Original Thinker in 4:15 Beverley at 13/2 (Hills 1/5 1,2,3) - min 11/2
At some point Harriet Bethell’s ORIGINAL THINKER is going to take advantage of a plummeting handicap mark, and this test offers her the chance to break her duck.
She wasn’t with the Gosdens long as a two-year-old and was picked up by current connections at the start of the 2023 season, where she seemed to find her level fairly quickly. A couple of narrow defeats at Newcastle showed she had ability, and although on the face of it she ran below par at Doncaster on her reappearance, she did look as though the run would bring her on, and she did too much too soon on the front end in a race where it paid to be held up.
I’d give her a pass for that effort, and another 2lb drop from the handicapper means she drops into 0-60 company for the first time and if there’s a time to try her it’s surely now, with her trainer in red-hot form, saddling three winners and three seconds from her last seven runners.
One of the most interesting runners on the card at Warwick this afternoon has to be LOVE AT SEA, who has, it is fair to say without being disrespectful to John Reddington, a pretty sharp jockey uplift with Sean Bowen now taking over from that enthusiastic amateur, who was the previous owner.
It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that Love At Sea, a point-to-point winner back in 2022, really ought to have won on her bumper debut at Down Royal and should have got closer than a 22-length fourth at Huntingdon two starts later too.
In between those runs, she was very highly tried in a Listed bumper at Cheltenham where her rider couldn’t claim, making life even harder for her, and really it’s only her final effort at Huntingdon that requires a degree of forgiveness.
Love At Sea has not been seen since February last year and neither has she jumped a hurdle in public but the booking of Bowen really does catch the eye in a very weak maiden hurdle where running to somewhere around 105 will probably be good enough.
Expected to be fit after the absence, given she won her point at the first time of asking, that also gives plenty of hope that she will be able to translate her bumper form to hurdles now.
God’s Own Getaway is going to be well fancied to follow up his Southwell win with another here, but if runner-up Hall Lane had jumped straight in the home straight he’d surely have won, and the winner was pretty much all-out to hold him off, so I think he’s opposable from a 6lb higher mark, for all that was his chase debut and better might be expected with experience.
American Gerry had been struggling to get his head back in front but the reapplication of cheekpieces turned his fortunes around at Taunton, winning with a bit in hand and doing well to come from off a steady pace to pick the leaders up in the straight. Drying ground there seemed to suit him too, and under similar conditions today, he looks the one more likely to follow up.
Posted at 0910 BST on 06/05/24
We're giving away a smart TV as part of our Ultimate Sports Fan competition.
To enter, simply answer the question below and one lucky winner will be selected at random.
For full details, click here.
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.