The step up to 1m 4f should really suit DUBAI CRYSTAL after she has looked to have been doing her best work at the finish in her previous races. Karl Burke's filly is bred to be a lot better than her current mark and I feel she could be a bit of a late developer especially now stepped up in trip. Sam Fielden takes a handy 7lb off today and it wouldn't be the deepest race on the card today so I'd be hopeful she can hit the frame at least.
Down at Ascot, the unexposed BLUELIGHT BAY looks to have a great chance of landing a nice pot. Eve Johnson-Houghton has always thought plenty of this lad and she seems to have found his trip now. He bounced right back to form at Sandown last time out and a repeat of that effort will see him go close in receipt of weight off his elders.
Haydock 1.30 – Dubai Crystal
Ascot 4.45 – Bluelight Bay
Saturday
This looks one of the better Saturdays I have seen recently and I'm keen on a few. STAR OF ORION must have a great chance at Ascot as he looks to be maintaining his form throughout the season. A solid second in a race which wouldn't have necessarily have suited last time out is evidence of that good form but if he can bounce back to the form that saw him finish 3rd over this course and distance in a top level handicap two starts back then he must be a serious player at 10/1 here.
Just thirty five minutes later I will be surprised if ALSAKIB doesn't go close in the Lavazza stakes. Andrew Balding's unexposed 3 year old has some very good form in the book and I will be very surprised if he doesn't prove to be a lot better than a mark of 87 by the end of the season. He has beaten some smart horses over a shorter trip yet this step up in trip promises to unlock further improvement and given he has a lovely racing weight on his back I am half expecting a dominant performance.
I'll be interested to see the price of DON'T TELL CLAIRE later on today as she always seems to be overlooked. She has great course form around Ascot and although she doesn't possess the sexy unexposed profile that some of these do, she is a consistent mare who always gives her best. Arguably at her best this season, she certainly deserves to get her head in front at some point to cap what has been a good season. She could be a tasty bet at a price.
The big race at Haydock is the Group 1 Sprint Cup and although it looks at the mercy of superstar three year old Shaquille I don't see much point in backing him at such cramped odds. RUN TO FREEDOM finished second behind him in the July Cup and he strikes me as a horse who seems to come to himself at the backend of the season so he could step up on that performance which would give him half a chance at least of reversing that form. At 25/1 he rates serious each way value in a wide open race.
Ascot 2.35 – Star Of Orion
Ascot 3.10 – Alsakib
Ascot 4.20 – Don't Tell Claire
Haydock 3.35 – Run To Freedom
