There may only be three meetings on display this Sunday, but Naas’ eight-race card features plenty of black-type action and Sam King returns with a trio of selections…
There may only be three meetings on display this Sunday, but Naas' eight-race card features plenty of black-type action and Sam King returns with a trio of selections…
Ralph Beckett has had an excellent start to the season and Mr Buster should take plenty of stopping in the William Hill Ripon Champion Bonus 2023 Handicap at Ripon (3.55).
The three-year-old went down narrowly on his third career start in a 1m1 ½ f novice event at Wolverhampton and it's fair to say the form has worked out nicely. The winner went on to make a mockery of his opening mark of 81 when winning a 1m2f Doncaster handicap by five-lengths and has subsequently been raised 13lbs. The third-placed horse in that Wolverhampton event looked unlucky not to finish close when also third in a hot Sandown novice race recently.
Mr Buster's opening mark of 80 looks well within range on this handicap debut and there should be bundles more to come from this son of Sea The Stars now stepping up to ten furlongs for the first time.
Selection: Mr Buster – General 11/10
We venture across the Irish Sea for our second wager. The Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes at 3.15 looks like an interesting renewal but New Energy is the class act and I'm hopeful he can get back to winning ways.
The form of his second-place finish in last season's Irish 2000 Guineas sets the standard and there were plenty of excuses for his below-par comeback run when fourth in the Amethyst Stakes at Leopardstown. He would have been unsuited by testing conditions that day and the race were hardly run to suit with a steady tempo set out in front. It's likely Mutasarref will ensure this isn't run at a pedestrian pace and Sheila Lavery's son of New Bay can bounce back to his best returning to a sounder surface with that run under his belt.
Selection: New Energy – General 7/2
Our third and final selection comes just half an hour later where I'm expecting Aidan O'Brien to enhance what's already been a productive weekend by landing the Group 3 Goffs Lacken Stakes (3.45) courtesy of The Antarctic.
He suffered a somewhat shock defeat when a disappointing third behind the reopposing Ocean Quest in the Listed Committed Stakes at Navan twenty-nine days ago but there are reasons to believe he can turn the form around.
More was clearly expected from the 4/5 favourite that day but ground conditions were very testing and this good moving colt likely just failed to handle it. The son of Dark Angel finished an excellent second in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket as a juvenile and can get back to winning ways with the Aidan O'Brien stable really beginning to fire of late (double at Newbury yesterday).
Selection: The Antarctic – General 2/1
