Alex Hammond looks ahead to the weekend's major races
Alex Hammond looks ahead to the weekend's major races

Alex Hammond Blog: Sandown smashers and Haydock hopes


Alex Hammond looks ahead to the weekend's feature racing and has a Roger Charlton-trained runner in mind for one of the Haydock handicaps.

I’m no meteorologist, but June seems to have been pretty wet.

Regular readers of this column will know that I took my own rain gauge with me to Royal Ascot on the day they experienced 43mm of rain in 24 hours. Well, I should have also taken it to Newcastle last weekend where the track seemed to be in its own microclimate, and not in a good way.

I felt so sorry for the racecourse and racegoers who had been looking forward to this midsummer raceday for some time, but the fancy hats, summer dresses and shirt sleeves didn’t quite stand up to the grizzly weather we experienced on Saturday.

Thankfully, I had my ‘big coat’ in the car, so my smart dress was kept hidden for the afternoon. Still, we were racing, and everyone seemed to have fun which is the main thing. The weather could have a bearing on this weekend’s feature race too, the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown.

I was at Windsor for Sky Sports Racing on Monday (thankfully on a dry day) and owner Chris Wright was there to see one of his horses run. Chris has been a long-standing owner with many top horses over the years and as the founder of a record company, names many of his horses after famous songs.

Wonderful Tonight is a fine example of that, (Eric Clapton - for those of you that have existed in a cave or are too young to remember) and she’s gone from strength to strength on her favoured soft ground conditions.

Most recently she strode away with the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot after the deluge at the meeting. The David Menuisier-trained filly holds an entry in Saturday’s Group 1 and her owner told me he’d left her in the race considering the forecast and rain that had already fallen. He felt it was worth leaving her in the race at that stage should it cut up any further. She has come out of her Ascot race really well too, so if she lines up it will be fascinating to see how she fares.

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It’s no cake walk though, with Aidan O’Brien’s brilliant two-year-old and now French 2000 Guineas and French Derby winner St Mark’s Basilica taking on his elders for the first time.

Also amongst those battle-hardened warriors is top-class four-year-old Mishriff. He won the French Derby in great style last season and has picked up two incredibly valuable prizes in the Saudi Cup (on his first try at 12f) and the Sheema Classic.

The last time he was seen in the UK he was well beaten in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October behind Addeybb, but a reproduction of any of his starts bar Ascot will make him a dangerous opponent.

Another horse who relishes ease in the ground is Addeybb, who at seven years of age is showing no sign of slowing down. He once again plied his trade in Australia over the winter and managed to add another Group 1 to his CV.

He’s the highest-rated in the race and worthy of respect if the ground remains on the soft side. The forecast looks mainly dry before Saturday, so that may count against Addeybb and Wonderful Tonight in particular.

Like Addeybb, Armory has also enjoyed some success Down Under, albeit not in the league of the William Haggas-trained horse. He was runner-up to former stablemate Sir Dragonet in the Cox Plate back in October and hasn’t done too badly since.

He beat Sangarius in the Huxley Stakes at Chester, before finishing third to superstar stablemate Love in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot. He may just fall short at this level if the others are on song.

It’s still reasonably early for the three-year-olds to take on their elders, but the 10lbs weight-for-age allowance will bring St Mark’s Basilica closer to the other protagonists.

I think it’s a fiercely difficult race to predict, but one to watch closely with the rest of the season in mind and MISHRIFF just about gets my vote and he’s looked brilliant most recently.

He’s Sky Bet’s 15/8 favourite for Saturday’s race and is currently 8/1 for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe in October.

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Elsewhere, I’m keen to see if Pleasant Man runs in Haydock’s 1m6f bet365 Handicap (2.05pm) on Saturday.

He’s currently a 9/1 shot with Sky Bet, which I’m hoping could be a bit of value, given there could be plenty of untapped potential in this three-year-old.

You get the impression he had become a touch frustrating as cheekpieces were applied for his run in the Group 3 Chester Vase on his penultimate start and after he could only finish fifth of the six runners, he was swiftly gelded.

He then ran at Salisbury in a competitive 12f handicap last week and won nicely and trainer Roger Charlton is now stepping him up a further couple of furlongs. With his best foot forward, he should continue to progress. The excellent David Probert is jocked up at this stage, which is another positive.

Have a great weekend and I hope you find a winner or two.


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