Timeform provide an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
The Resdev Roman to progress again
After three days of Ayr’s big Flat meeting of the year, Hamilton picks up the baton in Scotland where Mick & David Easterby look capable of taking the five-furlong nursery (14:30) with their filly The Resdev Roman. She was quite highly tried in her first two starts in May, starting out in a valuable novice at the Dante meeting, when shaping much better than the distance beaten suggests, and then finishing down the field again in the Hilary Needler Trophy at Beverley.
The Resdev Roman was then given a summer break and returned with a much improved effort earlier this month to win an ordinary novice at Ripon. Helping force the pace and travelling well, she was in command in the final furlong and went on to win with something in hand by a length and a quarter from American Psycho, looking the type to go on improving in nurseries.
Conditions were on the soft side at Ripon and are forecast to be a bit more testing still at Hamilton, but that shouldn’t be a problem for The Resdev Roman on pedigree, being a daughter of Holy Roman Emperor out of an American Post mare, and they may even suit.
Mojito des Mottes looks potentially useful
Harry Cobden has a couple of rides at Plumpton for his boss J. P. McManus including Mojito des Mottes who looks interesting in the most valuable event on the card, the handicap hurdle over just short of two miles (16:08) which has a first prize of more than £12,000.
Successful on his only start over hurdles in France, Mojito des Mottes ran his best race since joining Ben Pauling when returning from a breathing operation on his final start last season to finish a neck second to King Al in a valuable juvenile handicap hurdle at Ascot where he looked rather unlucky after meeting trouble approaching the straight.
Mojito des Mottes was weak in the betting when returning from four months off in the Summer Handicap Hurdle at Market Rasen in July and was eventually pulled up, but he got back on track in impressive fashion with his sights lowered at Newton Abbot last month when easily pulling clear of favourite Lunar Orbit. An 8 lb rise shouldn’t stop him as he tops the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here and he’s a potentially useful contender for some of the better of the handicap hurdles of the autumn after this.
Apple’s can build on impressive chase debut
Listowel’s week-long Harvest Festival kicks off on Sunday, and while the novice chase (16:18) has drawn one of the smaller fields on the card, it looks an interesting contest with not a great deal between the four with chasing experience on their best form.
Willie Mullins won this the last time he had a runner in 2023 and has a contender again in Ocastle des Mottes whose jumping has let him down over fences in the past but kept mistakes to a minimum under Paul Townend when making all to get off the mark over the larger obstacles at Galway a couple of weeks ago.
He’s still not entirely convincing, however, and a better bet is Barry Connell’s runner Apple’s of Bresil whose hurdles form is inferior to that of Ocastle des Mottes but made a really good impression on his chasing debut at Kilbeggan in May. Returning from twelve months off, he jumped fine at the head of affairs and was in control some way out before drawing well clear between the final two fences and beating Chichester Park by eleven lengths with the same gap to the third. Apple’s of Bresil earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag for that win, heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings, and can follow up with further improvement to come.
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.
