Guest Blog
Marshall's Blog, October 26
A treble for Richard Hughes yesterday but with eight races on both cards he hasn’t managed to pick up a single ride this afternoon, probably gearing up for some double stints later on in the week, in contrast Paul Hanagan has a full complement of rides at Catterick, I always thought the winning bumper mare Lady Bluesky would be capable of winning flat handicaps when upped in distance, usual partner Paul Mulrennan is riding at Yarmouth so Paul Hanagan takes over and the mare looks to hold the best chance of his eight mounts at the North Yorkshire course.
At Yarmouth last week, hard on the stands side rail looked the place to be, whether it was by chance I am not sure, but Franki J romped home against the said rail last week, whether she will be able to repeat her winning tactics from stall four is open to debate, the Barney Curley filly, No Complaining has landed the rail side draw of fourteen. A beautifully bred colt,Sea Moon, of Prince Khaled Abdulla’s ought to lose his maiden tag provided he handles the soft ground, another one to note for next season should be the Sinndar gelding Final Liberation, no doubt capable of winning a handful of handicaps next summer for Sir Mark.
With rain forecast around the West Country, there is every chance of Taunton resembling a skating rink this afternoon. I hope this potentially dangerous situation fails to materialize on their opening meeting of the season. As ever there is decent prize money up for grabs, the feature two mile handicap chase looks certain to be truly run. I wonder if the keen going sort Qianshan Leader may well be suited by a drop back to the minimum trip in a fast run race, while I have to give Mauricetheathlete one final chance in the three mile handicap hurdle, I am convinced he has a race in him.
