Good ground forecast for today's eight-raced card from Carlisle which is likely to be run on good ground.
Dan Skelton must have persuaded on of his owners to bid for Loughan (1.52) – previously owned by Trevor Hemmings – who cost his present connections £32,000 at last month's horses-in-training sale at Doncaster. The gelding finished runner up in his last start at Hereford back in March in a first-time hood and the headgear is applied again this afternoon. This will be the best ground the five-year-old will have encountered but there appears no reason why it should not bring about some improvement in the horse.
Dianne Sayer has The Navigator (3.01) in the form of his life, and I am not convinced he has finished his winning streak despite being 13lbs higher than when easily landing the odds at Sedgefield a week ago. The grey clearly enjoys good ground, and he ran a terrific race on the flat from a mark of 80 when runner up to a well-treated rival who has subsequently followed up. With that in mind the selection's current jumps rating of 109 – can run off 108 today – may not be his ceiling although his current busy schedule is a concern.
No Risk Des Flos (4.11) cost E200,000 as a three-year-old and is half-brother to several winners. He makes his racecourse debut in the concluding Bumper and gets the vote for Olly Murphy who has a good record in such events – 24% in the last five years – and is the yard's sole runner on the card. Richard Johnson takes the ride.
Getawaytonewbay (2.45) ran very well at Warwick last time and the handicapper has seen fit to drop him by 1lb in the 2m handicap chase at Wincanton. Jockey Stan Shepherd circled his field when taking the lead last time before his effort petered out in the home straight. The selection has only raced right-handed once in the past and finished last which is a slight concern, but looking back on his recent starts would give you cause for optimism that he will be able to cope with the track.
Stubborn Logic (5.05) was too keen on his first start for 471 days at Plumpton last month and David Pipe fits his six-year-old with cheekpieces for the first time this afternoon. The each way selection is only 3lbs higher than when scoring at Market Rasen on his penultimate start – when trained by Dr Richard Newland – and I hope he settles better with that run under his belt.
The Paul Nicholls' trained mare Get The Appeal is hardly one of the stable stars, but she scored here on fast ground on her hurdles debut before getting bogged down on soft ground in two subsequent starts. She could be well treated back on a sound surface although that will not be lost on the layers.
At Lingfield Vino Victrix looks sure to have his supporters having been just touched off close home on his racecourse debut from a moderate draw, but I feel Beautiful Bertie (2.00) is bred to appreciate the step up to a mile for the first time and he is taken to land the Median Auction Stakes for Roger Charlton and Jason Watson.
