Chester, Friday
Divine Comedy is in good form ahead of her run in the Chester Cup (15:05). Ascot last time was a little bit frustrating in the way the race panned out but importantly it wasn’t a hard race for her, so it allowed us to keep Chester an option. We’re drawn well enough in stall seven, which is key there. She hasn’t been to Chester before and that’s obviously a bit of a question mark, but I don’t see it being a problem as she’s run well around Kempton and tight tracks like that before. She likes going left-handed as well, having won twice at Haydock. Up to two miles and two furlongs, I think she’ll travel no problem and if you can travel well at Chester, then I think you tend to handle the track.
She’s very versatile ground wise and has form on every kind of surface, which is great for us as it allows us to pick a target and go there regardless of ground. Being the layout that it is at Chester, they have to water due to the bends anyway, so it never gets as quick as some other tracks can. She faces a couple of unexposed rivals, which in a handicap is always worrying, but she does bring a degree of class to the race that plenty of the others haven’t shown as yet, so I’d hope she can run a good race.
Nottingham, Saturday
Havana Gila is set to go in the fillies’ handicap (14:30) at Nottingham. I think I probably went to the races too quickly with her at the start of the year – she was just too fresh and got no cover in her race. We’ll make sure she gets some cover this time. I’m still unsure whether she has trained on or not, but I needed to get her out and racing before we really make a decision there. She seems well at home though, and she should run better than last time. She’s a watching brief really.
Leicester, Saturday
Guendolen (18:30) heads to Leicester where she won last time. We’re stepping up a couple of furlongs in trip with her and she seems in good form. She likes quick ground, so I was keen to try and make the most of her in running back quickly after winning last time. There’s one of George Baker’s that runs in here under a penalty and looks an obvious threat, but he has to give us plenty of weight so it will be interesting to see how we gets on.
Update on Docklands and La Botte
I was very happy with Docklands’ return at Ascot. He came back to his usual Ascot form and the course really does bring out the best in him. Unfortunately, we just bumped into one that was slightly better on the day. He seems to have come out of that race very well and there’s a possible option of heading to France with him between now and Ascot. His last run confirmed that he could have another go at the Queen Anne this year, albeit the mile division feels like it will be a lot tougher than 12 months ago.
La Botte delighted us when finishing fourth behind Cosmic Year in the King Charles II Stakes at Newmarket. To think that he could shape into a race like that and almost look like the winner, if not finish in the first three, was fantastic. He just got a bit tired in the closing stages and a bit lost judging by where he finished on the track. It was his first time on grass and only his third start, so he will have learned a lot from that and is entitled to come on for it. He was given a mark of 99 after that run, which leaves both the Britannia and the St James’s Palace as options. I would think the Britannia is much more likely, but you just never know.
Have a great weekend,
Harry