19:20 Haydock

Friday 9 August 2019

All17:0517:3518:1018:4519:2019:5020:25

Britannia Nursery

Off time: 19:20 | Winning time: 1m 29.44s

(2)

Welcome Surprise^p1⁴³

Age: 2| Weight: 9-7| J: R Ffrench| T: S bin Suroor| OR: 79

11/2

Exceed And Excel gelding; hasn't progressed with racing, hence a recent gelding operation and the application of cheekpieces; weakened inside the final furlong when a comfortably held fourth to Oti Ma Boati at Newcastle (6f) in June.

Form: 634

(6)

Rich Belief³⁹

Age: 2| Weight: 9-6| J: R Winston| T: J D Bethell| OR: 78| D

13/5

€40,000 yearling; has shown clear improvement from race to race and was off the mark when upped in trip (to 7f) in a Wolverhampton novice 39 days ago; that form mightn't necessarily be the strongest but this colt is tough to knock.

Form: 541

(1)

Fantom Force¹⁵

Age: 2| Weight: 9-5| J: R Kingscote| T: R Hannon| OR: 77

2/1

Beaten by a stablemate of Welcome Surprise on his sole start over 7f; dropped back in trip and forced to dig deep when winning a Newbury nursery (6f, good to firm) by a head subsequently; holds every chance off 4lb higher.

Form: 43431

(5)

Road Rage^p²⁵

Age: 2| Weight: 8-10| J: Connor Beasley| T: M Dods| OR: 68

13/2

£55,000 yearling; showed improved form when third to the recent Sandown Listed scorer Walk In Marrakesh at Ayr (7f+, good); needs to deliver even more in order to break his duck on nursery debut.

Form: 053

(3)

Out Of Breath³⁴

Age: 2| Weight: 8-8| J: S H James| T: Grant Tuer| OR: 66

7/1

Left Jamie Osborne after finishing second in a Leicester seller (6f, good to firm) in July; makes his debut for the Northallerton-based trainer Grant Tuer.

Form: 24582

(7)

Kilig⁵⁰

Age: 2| Weight: 8-6| J: J P Sullivan| T: T D Easterby| OR: 64

20/1

Runner-up to an Archie Watson-trained winner on debut at Beverley (5f, good to soft) in May but has taken a couple of backward steps since; bred for this trip (half-brother to the 7f AW winner Remembrance Day); risky at present.

Form: 257

(4)

The Ginger Bullet³¹

Age: 2| Weight: 8-2| J: D Fentiman| T: R A Fahey| OR: 60| BF

14/1

22,000gns yearling; has fired blanks to date, including when a beaten 100-30f (ninth of 13) on nursery debut at Pontefract (6f, good to firm) one month ago; still early days but needs to improve.

Form: 6769

Result Amended

Rich Belief - Original Position 1st. Amended Position 2nd.

Road Rage - Original Position 2nd. Amended Position 1st.

Forecasts

Fantom Force (2/1), Rich Belief (13/5), Welcome Surprise (11/2), Road Rage (13/2), Out Of Breath (7/1), The Ginger Bullet (14/1), Kilig (20/1)

A race which lacks a standout contender so the most prudent approach is to stick with the pair of last time out winners Fantom Force and RICH BELIEF. The former is 4lb higher than when scoring over 6f at Newbury while the latter makes his nursery debut after scoring with plenty in hand over this trip on Tapeta at Wolverhampton. The value of that form is questionable, but equally it's notable that James Bethell saw fit to declare his colt for an engagement at Glorious Goodwood (non-runner) and having improved race by race during his relatively short racing career he's certainly very difficult to knock.