Thursday, 20th March 2025
This weekend’s potential target races….
In ATC today….
Derek Fox chose not to ride Myretown in last week’s Ultima….
…. and he got it wrong….
…. but his decision offers a clearcut pointer about a horse I expect to come good at Ayr….
Read on….
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Derek’s choice….
I reckon Derek Fox could have done the 10-3 on Myretown….
…. winner of last week’s Ultima at the Cheltenham Festival….
…. if he’d really wanted to….
And why wouldn’t he have really wanted to….
…. after all, Cheltenham Festival winners don’t grow on trees….
…. and it’s not like Myretown’s win was a total shock to anybody in Lucinda Russell’s yard….
Without going overboard – they’d been talking him up a bit in the run-up to the Festival….
Here’s Lucinda Russell on the eve of last week’s race….
“Myretown is a fascinating contender in the Ultima…. He’s a really lightly raced horse but one with an awful lot of talent. He’s ran mainly in small field races and when he has done he has mostly won because he’s been a class apart from his rivals…. We think he will go up through the handicap, so we want to make the most of his mark while he has it. If he puts it all together, he’d have a chance as he’s a lovely horse.”
And it’s not like Myretown’s win came as a surprise to the wider betting public either….
…. by the time track officials were making an absolute pig’s ear of the start of the race, the 8yo had been backed all the way down to race favouritism….
…. sent off at 13/2 – having been easy to back at 14s & 12s just 24-hours earlier….
My point?
Derek Fox knew Myretown had a good chance at the bottom of the weights….
…. he’d ridden the horse in seven of its nine previous assignments….
…. and he could have done the 10-3 – if he’d really wanted to ride that horse….
…. but he didn’t….
Instead, he let Patrick Wadge ride Myretown….
…. and chose to take the ride on the yard’s other Ultima runner – Whistle Stop Tour – instead….
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A big pot winner in waiting….
Of course, principal yard jockeys make wrong-headed choices all the time….
…. they don’t always get on the right one when there’s a choice of two or more rides in a race….
Look at Paul Townend….
…. he’s generally a pretty good picker in such circumstances….
…. but he was on the wrong one in the Coral Cup on Wednesday – picking Bunting over Jimmy Du Seuil….
Jockeys have to make a choice….
…. it’s not always clearcut….
…. and when they come down on one side or the other – it’s because they believe they’re making the right choice at the time….
Bottom line: Derek Fox must think Whistle Stop Tour is pretty good and pretty well-handicapped….
…. because – let’s not forget – the yard knew Myretown was on a hell of a mark….
…. and they were quite open about the fact that he’d won previous races because he was a ‘class apart from his rivals’….
…. a statement that suggests – in and of itself – that they knew for sure that there was plenty more to come from the horse….
Granted – they didn’t know exactly when it would come….
…. and they might have been a bit worried about his inexperience – especially his lack of experience in big fields….
…. but – even so – for Derek Fox to select Whistle Stop Tour over Myretown tells us pretty clearly that Whistle Stop Tour is very likely a big handicap pot winner in waiting himself….
At least that’s my reading….
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His day will come….
Myretown went out last week, jumped like a stag, made all, and put his 23 Ultima opponents to the sword….
…. with ten pulling-up – the majority of them run ragged….
He won by 11-lengths….
…. and looked every inch like a horse from another division entirely….
Whistle Stop Tour – on the other hand – was one of those that failed to complete….
…. Derek Fox pulling him up three out when his chance had gone….
Truth be told his chance had gone a lot earlier in the race….
…. when he was badly hampered at the very first fence by the fall of Guard Your Dreams….
He kind of ballooned the next fence – dropping further back in the field – and he never really recovered….
My message today is don’t forget about him….
…. the Ultima – for him at least – turned into a race you can draw a line through….
…. but he remains a real prospect at the 3m trip and beyond….
Take out his run at Cheltenham on Trials day….
…. when he ran over too short a trip because Lucinda Russell was seeking to conserve him for the Festival….
…. and he’s progressed mightily for each run this term….
My opinion is that – assuming he’s come out of Cheltenham okay – he will resume progress….
…. most likely at Ayr – where he’s a two-time winner and where he recorded his career-best RPR….
…. possibly in the Scottish Grand National – a race that was spoken about by connections after his win at the track in January….
He’s been compared to Corach Rambler….
…. but they don’t make too many like that and I’d take the comparison with a pinch of salt….
But he’s pretty good nevertheless….
…. and he’s going to get better….
Derek Fox knows that….
…. he knew it last week.
…. that’s why he chose Whistle Stop Tour over Myretown….
That one took a step forward the last day….
…. Whistle Stop Tour’s day will come….
…. quite possibly before the season is out….
It’s just something to bear in mind….
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That’s all for today….
Back tomorrow with picks for Saturday….
Meantime – contact me direct at – nick.pullen@oxonpress.co.uk
Stay tuned….
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