Eye Catchers June 2023
Harry Brown – 9th in 6.10 23/06/23
Harry Brown was unlucky, again drawn on the wrong side of the track where horses drawn high and middle dominated. He travelled smoothly under Hayley Turner and was left alone in front on his side a long way out. He stays 5 furlongs strongly and off his mark of 87 he is capable of picking up a handicap on grass over the coming months.
Remarquee – 2nd in 4.20 Ascot 23/06/23
Remarquee took a significant step forward from her last run to finish an unlucky second to the smart filly Tahiyra. The door closed on her at a crucial time of the race when she didn’t have the turn of foot to match Tahiyra’s run and found herself in a pocket but when she got back balanced she stayed on really well to finish a closing second. She wears a sheepskin noseband as trainer Ralph Beckett feels she is still very green and she has only run one poor race in her short career in the Guineas. She will probably be aimed at the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket in mid July where I doubt she will go off at 25/1 again..
Nagano – 11th in 3.40 Ascot 23/06/23
Nagano was unlucky when getting blocked just as he was making his run 2 furlongs out. I did like the fact that he had enough to pick up again after being stopped and ran on under hands and heels to finish 11th 5 lengths behind the winner Okita Soushi for Joseph O’ Brien. That was Nagano’s first run for 664 days and if he doesn’t bounce on his next run he is capable of picking up a handicap off an unchanged mark of 100.
Bluestocking – 3rd in 3.40 22/06/23
Bluestocking stayed to the inside under Frankie Dettori and stayed on strongly to grab third on the line on only her third career run. She is a big filly who has entries in the Irish Oaks and the Yorkshire Oaks. I have the feeling the Curragh would really suit this filly as she looks like a galloper and she would have plenty of time to stretch them up that Curragh straight .
Sonny Liston – 2nd in 5.00 Ascot 21/06/23
Sonny Liston finished second to Jimi Hendrix In the Royal Hunt Cup. Jimi Hendrix put up a massive performance and has gone up 8 lbs in the handicap since. He was 9 lengths clear on his side of the track while Sonny Liston was 2 lengths clear on the near side. The handicapper has nudged him up 4 lbs for finishing second but it was a big run under Ryan Moore and he is entered in the John Smith’s Cup at York on Saturday.
El Caballo – 3rd in 3.35 Haydock 10/06/23
El Caballo is as tough as nails and was unlucky not to have finished a lot closer than he did to the winner Jumby in this. He was constantly denied a clear run over the last two furlongs, finishing third beaten by Jumby by 1 ½ lengths. He won a Group 2 last year winning the Sandy Lane at Haydock. He doesn’t like rattling hard ground but handles good ground fine. He is capable of picking up a race of similar nature or stepping back to a stiff 6 furlongs.
Onesmoothoperator – 4th in 2.25 Haydock 10/06/23
Onesmoothoperator caught the eye, staying on strongly to finish fourth in the 1m 4f Handicap off a mark of 92. He was awkward away from the stalls and was the only horse to finish from off the pace. He made significant headway to eventually finish 2 ½ lengths behind the winner Cumulonimbus. His form is stronger on the all-weather but he could win a race on the flat over the next few months.
Sunset Nova – 2nd in 4.07 Listowel 04/06/23
Sunset Nova is handicapped to win a race of this nature soon. He came from a long way back and gave away substantial ground racing wide around the last bend to finish second 2 ¼ lengths behind Dutch Glory who got first run. The handicapper has been very lenient dropping him 2lbs to a mark of 56. He won last August at Leopardstown off a mark of 69. Amy Jo Hayes was onboard claiming 7lbs. Take that into consideration he is still 6lbs lower than that revised mark.
Sunset Nova – 2nd in 4.07 Listowel 04/06/23
Sunset Nova is handicapped to win a race of this nature soon. He came from a long way back and gave away substantial ground racing wide around the last bend to finish second 2 ¼ lengths behind Dutch Glory who got first run. The handicapper has been very lenient dropping him 2lbs to a mark of 56. He won last August at Leopardstown off a mark of 69. Amy Jo Hayes was onboard claiming 7lbs. Take that into consideration he is still 6lbs lower than that revised mark.
Nelda – 2nd in 2.05 Listowel 04/06/23
Nelda was green on her debut but showed a good attitude to stay on for second doing all her best work at the finish. She was slow out of the stalls and Shane Foley had to kick her on to find an early position behind the leaders. She was niggled along 3 furlongs out but responded impressively and was finishing best of them all. Her siblings have won up to a mile and she will appreciate a step up in trip in time. She should be good enough to win a maiden and should go close next time out.
Alligator Alley – 12th in 3.20 Epsom 03/06/23
This ended up being a bit of a farce of a race with some of the higher stalls not opening at the same time as the rest of the field. In the fastest race of the year they had no chance. Alligator Alley got the blame for charging out of his stall just as they were opening. Either way he got squeezed at a crucial time around the 2 furlong pole and Jason Watson let him run home under restraint. Visually he looks like a horse that would have been placed at least if ridden out on merit. Last August at Thirsk was the last time he won on turf off a mark of 85. He is now on a mark of 96 so it shows you how well handicapped he was on that day. He won at Southwell last January off a mark of 100 and needs good or better ground. He could pop up at York under stable jockey Daniel Tudhope in a big handicap.