Hollie Doyle briefly led the Flat Jockeys Championship last week. She remains within two wins of William Buick and rides four at Ripon on Wednesday evening. We have previewed the quartet’s chances below, alongside 888sport‘s exclusive sign-up offer of Bet £10 and Claim £40 In Bet Bonuses.
Little Edi (5.25 Ripon)
A recent debutant at Redcar for Richard Spencer, you could understand why LITTLE EDI’s trainer would have been excited ahead of the colt’s debut.
He was the first of Rajasinghe’s progeny to race on turf. That horse provided one of Spencer’s biggest days in just the second season of his relatively short career so far, winning the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2017.
Little Edi showed promise on that first effort too. Racing just last week, he was second to Legend Of Xanadu, a horse who had run three times previously and gone close. Spencer’s colt had pulled nearly four lengths clear of the third though, despite racing quite keenly.
Hollie Doyle takes over the ride from Hayley Turner here. Betweenthesticks looks a big danger as another runner-up with more experience, but there is every chance Little Edi will be a bigger improver if he settles.
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Makhan King (5.55 Ripon)
This will be Doyle’s first ride on the three-year-old, who goes back up in trip to 1m here for Roger Fell.
MAKHAN KING has raced nine times, with just the one win to show for his career so far. Three starts down the field in novice company only served to give him a mark that was too challenging in his first four handicaps.
At Thirsk last month, he finally got off the mark, having slipped to a rating of 50. That was quit a good performance given he slipped out of the stalls, and was also his first handicap on good, turf ground after a gelding operation at the end of his juvenile season.
He was only fifth of seven over that same course and distance next time out, but the step up to 1m is worth a go given how he finished off the race he won in April. It would not be beyond him to challenge.
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Banned (8.00 Ripon)
Little would Hughie Morrison have known, but BANNED has faced two very useful opponents, who have been second and first respectively for separate Oaks trials recently.
His filly, a daughter of Ulysses, was fifth on her debut last autumn in a Nottingham maiden. As a three-year-old, she was initially declared over 1m2f at Newbury. Ultimately, she faded out of things behind Life Of Dreams, who was second to Emily Upjohn in the Musidora Stakes at York.
Banned did step up on her next start, when dropped back to the same course and distance as her two-year-old debut. She was third, beaten just under six lengths by Sea Silk Road, winner of the Height Of Fashion Stakes at Goodwood. Now, she steps down to 1m at Ripon.
There may be a few unexposed types to challenge her here, but none have gone up against the quality of opposition which Banned has faced so far. Doyle will be her fourth jockey in four races and will hope to get the best tune out of her so far.
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Fircombe Hall (8.30 Ripon)
FIRCOMBE HALL could well be underestimated in this handicap for Phil Kirby. His all-weather form may be better on the whole than his turf efforts, but there is certainly reason to be hopeful.
He is back down to his last winning mark, which came at Newcastle just after the turn of the year. Since then, four starts have proved fruitless, but have served him well in the handicap.
He only has one win in 14 efforts on turf, but his turf form in handicaps on marks of 53 and below reads 523, with a win off 55 in that time too. He was only ninth off that mark at Ayr last time, but he has often needed at least three runs to recover his best form after a break. He has now had exactly a trio of runs after a 57-daybreak between January and March, as well as a gelding operation.
He is still only a four-year-old and there should be a recovery of form at some point. Doyle rode a winner for Kirby at Wolverhampton on Monday and could easily ride another here.
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