Andrew Asquith provides an overview of the key things to note on Monday.
Three points of interest
Final Straw totally unexposed
The Betgoodwin Novices’ Limited Handicap Hurdle (14:50) at Plumpton doesn’t look the deepest race and it looks an excellent opportunity for the Nicky Henderson-trained Final Straw to follow up his Kempton success from last week.
That was his handicap debut and first start beyond two and a half miles and he relished the test in first-time cheekpieces, giving another boost to the form of the race he’d contested at Fontwell on his previous start.
Final Straw was given a confident ride, produced to lead at the second-last and in full control when not so tidy at the final flight. He was driven out from there and, given he escapes a penalty or rise in the weights due to the conditions of that race, he’s very hard to get away from, especially as he’s totally unexposed as a stayer.
Premier stands out at the weights
The Visit Woburn Safari Park Novices’ Handicap Hurdle (15:50) at Plumpton has an interesting outlook, primarily because of three-year-old Premier, who looks potentially well treated for his handicap debut over hurdles.
He reached a fairly useful level on the Flat, his sole win in that sphere coming on his final start as a two-year-old in a nursery at Bath from a mark of 70, and he has shaped with promise in a couple of starts over hurdles recently.
Premier finished runner-up to a promising sort on his debut, who has since won again at Cheltenham on Saturday, and he looked set to come through for second place before it was handed to him at the last.
He was easy to back at Wetherby last time, but nevertheless he shaped well to finish fourth in a race which perhaps had more depth, given a little too much to do but doing enough at the finish to suggested he’d be up to winning a similar event.
Therefore, he looks particularly interesting now making his handicap debut against his elders in receipt of a handy weight-for-age allowance – he’s at least 4lb clear of his rivals on Timeform weight-adjusted ratings and he has the ‘Timeform small p’ attached to his rating which highlights he’s open to further improvement.
More to come from Henrysbrotherjack
The Royal Oak, Okehampton Street, Exeter Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (16:00) looks a competitive race for the grade, but more interesting than most is ‘Horse In Focus’ Henrysbrotherjack.
He progress well in handicaps last season, landing a gamble to open his account over hurdles at Uttoxeter, relishing the step up to two and a half miles, and he looked most progressive when winning his last two starts at around three miles.
Henrysbrotherjack won with more in hand than the official margin suggests at Perth when last seen in April, travelling well before making rapid headway from four out, produced to lead at the second-last then idling once in front. He and the runner-up pulled clear of the remainder and there should be even more to come from him this season from an 8lb higher mark.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
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.
