Scottish Sun columnist and Racing TV analyst Ed Watson tipped 5/2 winner Letsbefrank on the last Sunday Series card at Hamilton. The Sky Bet-sponsored series heads south of the border to Thirsk, where our man is sweet on the chances of Jim Goldie’s runner filling his boots again by landing the £100,000 three-win bonus for the second time.
THE BEST BET
LETSBEFRANK (17:15 Thirsk)
Five career wins, all of them in Sunday Series races. The first horse to scoop the six-figure bonus. If LETSBEFRANK wasn’t a Sunday Series specialist already, he will be if he repeats his bonus-bagging exploits from 2024 and becomes the first to double up.
There’s every chance he can, too. Jim Goldie’s six-year-old has returned to the track this term with renewed fire in his belly. He’s also struck up a fine relationship with stable claimer Lauren Young, who’s 2-3 on him following last-gasp wins at Musselburgh (1m4½f) and then Hamilton (1m3f) that give his owner Stuart Morrison an unobstructed shot at landing the bonus in its entirety as the sole two-time winner in the series so far.
Central to those recent successes has been Young’s patience in allowing Letsbefrank to find his own rhythm following his trademark sluggish start, rather than rushing him to make up the lost ground. While he beat his stable-mate, the well-ridden Krissy (winner twice since and runs in the 18:45 finale) by only three-quarters of a length last time, there was an air of inevitability about the outcome no sooner had Letsbefrank hit top gear up the Hamilton hill.
A subsequent 5lb rise lifts him above the mark from which he clinched the bonus under Paul Mulrennan two Augusts ago; yet Goldie again enlists the 5lb claim of Young, who must be one of the most improved apprentices over the last 18 months, to bring his racing weight back under 9st.
Letsbefrank has track form in the book, having won here over 1m6f two summers ago, and stepping back up a furlong in trip is no harm either. With a run-in of just over 3f from the home turn, however, the key to glory may boil down to how quickly Young is able to get her mount going through the gears once in line for home. If it’s sooner rather than later, it’s not hard to envisage him munching up the ground and pouncing late to nick the cash and the kudos.
The Inside Track: “If he wins, I’m sure he’ll go into the history books as the first 0-70 horse to win £100,000 twice! He’s up in the weights and up in grade, and there looks to be one or two well-handicapped horses in against him. From stall one, we’ll be going the shortest way and I expect him to be there or thereabouts at the finish” - Jim Goldie, trainer
THE NEXT BEST
GANGSTA MAN (17:45 Thirsk)
That man Goldie is firing nine bullets (eight if Krissy is a NR after Carlisle on Friday) at this card including Montezuma (16:45), who boiled over before the start at Hamilton and ran no sort of race as a result. It would come as no shock to see him get back on the up returned to 5f here provided he doesn’t go potty in the preliminaries.
While he has to prove those antics were a one-off, GANGSTA MAN looks worth an interest at big odds on the back of his narrow stable debut defeat in Musselburgh’s Scottish Sprint Cup. The Irish import, a dual winner over 7f for previous connections, was outpaced early doors dropping to the minimum trip, so it was hardly a surprise that he did all of his best work late on under Harry Davies.
The four-year-old was well fancied stepping up to 7f at Newmarket on the back of that only to blow out, beating only one of 17 rivals. That run is best excused, however, as it arguably came too quickly, backing up just 12 days on from his seasonal return after six months off, and was on ground faster than ideal.
Gangsta Man has been allowed the best part of seven weeks to get over those exertions and knowing Goldie’s MO when it comes to this series, it would be no surprise if he’s been working towards this £60,000 feature for a while.
The form of Gangsta Man’s Musselburgh effort has certainly worked out nicely. The short-head winner Pilgrim has more than held his own in top-end handicaps at York since, while the third Lexington Blitz bolted up at Goodwood next time. As the only runner to get involved from the rear half of the field that day, I’ve no doubt this son of Dandy Man can be competitive off just 2lb higher over this 6f trip I suspect will suit much better than a sharp 5f at Musselburgh.
The blinkers are also removed for the first time since his stable switch and he strikes me as just the type his canny handler can eke further improvement from as a sprinter.
Fandom was an encouraging third to Dark Thirty at York and meets that rival on 6lb better terms for two lengths. He’s had a nomadic career to this point, having started life in the States with Wesley Ward and then Brad Cox, before moving on to Joseph O’Brien and then Olly Murphy, for whom he had two spins on the ice of St Moritz in February. Now with Richard Hannon, it will be interesting to see what heights this five-year-old, who’s made just 12 lifetime starts, can scale now he’s settled at an established and in-form Flat yard.
The Inside Track: “Gangsta Man ran really well over 5f at Musselburgh. Looking at his profile, I thought it might be too sharp for him, but they went hard up front and he got through the soft ground well. Going up to 6f should suit. The stronger the pace, the better, but we’re drawn right next to Dark Thirty, so hopefully we should get one. If there’s any rain, that will suit him.” - Harry Davies, jockey
THE EACH-WAY BET
MOUNTAIN ROAD (18:15 Thirsk)
SPs of 50/1, 16/1 and 33/1 suggest little was expected from MOUNTAIN ROAD in three runs back from an 19-month injury absence, yet he’s shaped with increasing promise each time. At the last Sunday Series card at Hamilton a fortnight ago, he finished with running left in the 1m5f handicap won by the Royal Ascot-bound Valiancy. There’s a solid look to that form, with the runner-up and third also striking as progressive four-year-olds with plenty more to offer. Mountain Road kept on to be a never-nearer fifth, just under seven lengths behind the front trio.
As a dual winner over both 1m6f and 2m, he’ll appreciate going back up to that longer trip here, plus his latest 2lb drop has eased him back to his sole winning turf mark (also won on all-weather off 4lb higher) for previous trainer David Simcock.
With three AW successes on his dance card, it may be that the seven-year-old is being primed for a tilt at the Northumberland Plate or, more likely, given his current mark of 83, the consolation Vase at the end of next month. Should the market speak in his favour this weekend, however, I’ll be happy to row in.
The Inside Track: “He’s had a couple of goes over shorter and we’re going back up to a trip that suits him. He got an injury not long after we bought him and we’ve taken our time getting him back. There’s a decent race in him and I’m expecting a good run” - Jim Goldie, trainer
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