GG tipster Andrew Mount reveals his list of eyecatchers from the past week’s racing. Find out which ten he believes should be kept in your trackers, alongside bet365‘s new customer offer of Bet £10 Get £50 In Free Bets.
DANDY’S DIVA (fifth, 5f selling handicap, Hamilton, Thursday, June 23)
It wasn’t much of a race in which DANDY’S DIVA was fifth at Hamilton last Thursday but her stall 10 of 10 draw (once adjusted for the non-runner) made life tough and she never left the ‘dead’ rail. The first three home came from stalls 1, 2 and 3 and all raced on the quicker strip down the centre of the track.
ELEGANT ERIN (fifth, 5f fillies’ handicap, Pontefract, Monday, June 27)
The ground closest to the stands’ side seemed to have avoided the clerk of the course’s watering can and was clearly faster, favouring those drawn high. Two of the three highest-drawn runners ran one-two in the 5f fillies’ handicap, with ELEGANT ERIN the eyecatcher in fifth. The well-backed favourite met trouble at the start and was switched to race far side where the ground was slowest. She was only beaten by two and a half lengths and can be forgiven this.
ELLADORA (third, 6f handicap, Hamilton, Thursday, June 23)
ELLADORA has been very disappointing since her soft-ground course and distance success last September but caught the eye here, staying on well down the rail into third from her poor high draw. She’s 5lb below her last winning mark and holds an entry at Beverley on Friday.
KILCONQUHAR (second, 6f handicap, Hamilton, Thursday, June 23)
Poor old KILCONQUHAR – after two runs from desperate draws over course and distance earlier this month in which he acquitted himself well, he was denied by a neck after being punted from 9-1 into 11-4. Again, he wasn’t best drawn, racing closer to the stands’ rail than the winner, and will surely go one better soon.
MOSS TUCKER (fifth, 5f premier handicap, Curragh, Sunday, June 26)
The pace held up in the Rockingham Handicap, with five of the first six home prominent throughout, Fifth-placed MOSS TUCKER was the exception to the rule, coming from midfield to finish two and a half lengths behind the winner. Often a front-runner, he’ll be interesting in a small field next time. His sprint record in single-figure line-ups reads 3121 (2-4), with both defeats by just half a length.
ROUND THE ISLAND (sixth, 6f handicap, Pontefract, Monday, June 27)
Racing wide, closest to the stands’ rail, was a massive advantage in this 11-runner handicap. The six lowest-drawn horses filled the last six places, with ROUND THE ISLAND faring best of them. He was switched closer to the rail after halfway, but it was still a performance worthy of an upgrade.
SHAHNAZ (fourth, 1m handicap, Leicester, Thursday, June 28)
Sticking to the far rail for as long as possible was the key to success on the round course at Leicester last week and the first three home in the 1m fillies’ handicap, drawn in stalls 3, 2 and 1. All of them took the inside route and all came from off the pace. Gemma Tutty’s SHAHNAZ did well to run fourth from stall 9 under a prominent ride out wide and is the one to take from the race.
SUPERIOR COUNCIL (fifth, 1m handicap, Leicester, Thursday, June 23)
SUPERIOR COUNCIL was beaten by nine lengths into fifth place in the first-time cheekpieces but this run was better than it looked. He raced keenly off the steady pace, got a bump at the start and made ground down the outside in the straight. He’s in an Nottingham on Saturday.
TRUE MASON (seventh, 6f handicap, Pontefract, Monday, June 27)
They were strung out like three-mile chasers in this 6f handicap and if you didn’t race on the stands’ rail you might as well have stayed at home. TRUE MASON’s stall 2 of 11 draw turned out to be a big disadvantage and his 20-length seventh was actually a good effort in the circumstances.
WESTERN WRITER (second, 1m handicap, Kempton, Wednesday, June 22)
WESTERN WRITER tried to sit up with the early pace but got shuffled back from his inside berth and found himself in sixth place at halfway. The steady gallop proved his undoing and though he got going late he was three-quarters of a length down at the line. The winner, third and fourth were in the first four throughout and he’ll be hard to beat at Yarmouth on Thursday.
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