Thursday, 6th June 2024
Beshtani is of interest going forward….
His run last Friday’s in the Trustatrader Handicap at Epsom was his first for 273 days….
…. his first in Britain….
…. his first for his new trainer….
…. his first in a handicap setting….
…. his first on a track that rides like Epsom….
…. his first since debut without the tongue tie….
…. his first in cheekpieces….
…. his first under James Doyle….
…. and he ran a belter in 2nd – just held by Two Tempting to whom he conceded 16lbs….
He was 3/6 in France and cost his new connections – Wathnan Racing – 340,000 euros….
They’re big spenders….
…. but I doubt they’re into burning money….
…. and they must see mileage in this lightly-raced 4yo….
I imagine – ultimately – he’s bound for big money races in Qatar….
…. but a British campaign is the current agenda….
An opening mark of 104 looked stiff on what he’d produced in France….
…. but he fired a career-best at Epsom – half-a-stone in advance of his previous best….
…. clearly advertising he can win off his three-figure perch….
And the handicapper left him unchanged this week – which will have connections clapping their hands….
As I point out in my latest Special Research Report – download your copy here….
…. the Royal Hunt Cup is one of very few handicaps in which the typical winner is rated 100+….
…. Beshtani is entered – and rates serious consideration….
If not then – it’s going to happen sometime and he’s on my Watch List….
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Softer assignments than the Nifty 50 are open to Lord Melbourne….
On his first go for Ralph Beckett and running off an effective mark of 82….
…. he was 2lb out of the handicap – albeit with a 3lb claimer onboard….
…. he finished 5/13 beaten 2.5 lengths….
…. and would have been closer still….
…. but for finding a blocked passage and meeting interference in the penultimate furlong….
He finished off very strong and was really motoring at the death….
…. in the thick of it with horses in the 100s….
He didn’t look out of place in open handicap company for the first time – and this was valuable experience….
He’s clearly capable of winning at this level – if or when things drop right – off an unchanged mark of 80….
…. but there are plenty of options to bank dollar in lesser races should connections opt to walk that path….
He raced a little further back early doors for Ralph Beckett than he had been doing for the Crisford team….
…. and perhaps it was that feature of his performance that enabled a small improvement on his career-best on the RPR scale….
In the same race Derry Lad is another who produced a run that should be marked up….
He came from even further back than Lord Melbourne, he too met interference, and he too finished full of running – finishing 3rd beaten 1.25 lengths….
He’s more exposed than Lord Melbourne – but that was a second good run on the bounce….
…. he’s in a decent vein of form right now….
…. he can move on from a current mark of 82….
…. and like the Beckett horse he has options at lower levels….
In previous years he’s done his most productive work in May and June – so next time could be the right time to catch him….
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The X O ran a cracker on his first go at the 7f trip in the Molson Coors….
Wide on the course he saw a lot of daylight throughout proceedings….
…. and maybe that – and the loose ground on which he was racing for the first time – just told late on when he emptied and got run down by previous course and distance winner Rhoscolyn….
There was plenty to like though – particularly his thrusting move to the front in the straight….
…. a move that – with the benefit of hindsight – might be seen as slightly premature….
Last summer he rated 104 after producing an eye-catching performance in a G3 at Ascot….
…. a mark that maybe flattered….
He’s down to 95 now….
…. and he’s produced two decent performances this term after being gelded in April….
He’s pretty much unexposed on the turf and last week’s performance encourages the view that trainer John Ryan can find opportunities for him this summer….
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Two years have passed since Andrew Balding’s King’s Lynn won….
…. during which time he’s had 16 goes….
…. but it’s surely only a matter of time before the 7yo capitalizes on a mark in the 90s and puts that record right….
At his peak he was officially rated 111….
…. and nobody is suggesting that the horse is now what he was then….
…. but as recently as last summer – when he was running off 107 – he was within 3.5 lengths of the winner in the Wokingham….
…. before getting as close again in another big Ascot handicap – having been sent off favourite….
He’s dropped almost a stone in the meantime….
…. and this term he’s put three consecutive runs together that suggest there’s still something to work with….
He’s been kept to predominantly softer surfaces in the last 12-months….
…. and perhaps conditions at Hamilton on Sunday – where he finished 4th and beaten 5-lengths by a runaway winner – were on the lively side for him….
A stiff 5f appears to suit best and I wonder if the Portland at Doncaster is the race Andrew Balding is targeting….
It’s off at the buckle end of the season – and there will be opportunities in between times….
…. but you’d think King’s Lynn would get his ground at the back end….
…. he’s won at Doncaster twice before….
…. finished second….
…. and was 6th in last season’s edition off a mark 104….
…. 10lb below where he is on the ladder now….
Just a thought….
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That’s all for today….
Back tomorrow….
Meantime – contact me direct at – nick.pullen@oxonpress.co.uk
Stay tuned….
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