Thursday, 4th December 2025
In ATC today….
Was Gavin Sheehan at fault on Guard Duty on Saturday – or did he get it pretty much right?
…. I’m adding an eyecatcher in the Coral Gold Cup to my Watch List….
…. along with the handicap performer of the weekend – who could be a Coral Gold Cup horse himself in 12-months-time….
Oh…. and the market’s not wrong about this December Gold Cup shortie….
Read on….
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Guard Duty – a drifter in the betting on Saturday at Newbury – performed well enough to have won handicaps of corresponding level on other days and in different circumstances….
…. there’s no doubt about that in my mind….
He was most definitely sufficiently well-handicapped on his mark of 134….
…. and the bare metrics – he produced a clear career-best some 6lb in advance of anything he’d achieved previously on the RPR scale….
…. were more in keeping with what you see when a handicapper wins a race than what you see when he loses one….
But Guard Duty – put up by this column on Friday morning – didn’t win Saturday’s “Join Coral Bet £10 Get £50" Handicap Hurdle”….
…. he finished second – beaten 1.75 lengths….
…. and – the way he was ridden – it’s probably inevitable that Gavin Sheehan’s tactics would come under fire….
This from ATC reader HC….
“What do you think of the ride given to Guard Duty by Gavin Sheehan, normally a sound pilot? Without having to use language I would reserve for extreme events; this was an absolute shite ride.”
Sheehan lined up at the start out the back….
…. he stayed dropped out the back – the race commentator describing him as ‘detached’ at one point – making no effort to close up on the main group….
…. and he persisted with that choice of positioning pretty much all the way – only really putting his horse into the race after the second last hurdle….
…. from where he did make up a lot of ground – fairly powering home up the lengthy Newbury run in….
By the time the leaders cleared the final obstacle, Sheehan had burnt off most of the opposition….
…. he’s only got Lud’or (who led from the front) and French Ship (prominent all the way) ahead of him….
He does get to and get by the former – but just can’t get to the latter who stays on strong all the way to the line….
Beaten just under 2-lengths you can’t help but wonder what the result would have been had Sheehan ridden just that bit handier to the pack early doors….
…. did he need to be quite so far in arrears….
…. could he have made his move just that bit sooner….
Or did the exaggerated waiting tactics succeed in getting Guard Duty the best possible placing on the day?
The race was run in a strong time….
…. Sheehan did get to everything but the winner – with the main pack cooked in the straight and 20+ lengths to the rear at the line….
Perhaps Sheehan got the fractions pretty much right….
…. and just ran into one….
Winner French Ship is a horse on a roll whose won twice now and gone up 18lbs since the start of the season….
…. he travelled powerfully – up with the pace all the way – and he simply wasn’t for stopping in the later stages….
He looks like he could be headed into Graded level events in the not-too-distant future….
…. you wonder how much more improvement he might find for further – because he stayed on very stoutly….
…. and it can’t be denied that he represented a pretty formidable foe on Saturday – however you chose to run the race against him….
Did Sheehan’s ride cost Guard Duty the race?
Or did Sheehan get everything pretty much right – but bump into one that couldn’t be shifted?
Let’s see what the consensus is….
Watch the race again here – and then….
…. email me your take at: nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk
The difference between winning and losing for Guard Duty’s connections on Saturday amounted to £10k in prize money….
…. but the loss goes deeper still….
…. Guard Duty’s been put up 5lb to 139 for the defeat….
…. a proper kick in the Shergars….
….. but testament to how close he got to a decent horse in receipt of just 2lbs….
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Pic Roc caught the eye in the betting for the Coral Gold Cup….
Up at prices as big as 25s on Friday morning….
…. he was second favourite at 6s when the tapes went up….
I don’t know if one of the big tipsters put him up or what….
…. but that’s quite the plunge on a horse that’d won just a single 4-runner beginner’s chase at Huntingdon prior to lining up on Saturday….
Truth is his race was probably done and dusted right at the standing start – which he missed and where he got left behind….
But Ben Jones didn’t panic, and he didn’t rush his horse – the pair still had loads to do when the field hit the finishing straight….
…. but they made up ground late on – running on to finish 5th and beaten 12-lengths, which was no bad effort under the circumstances….
They were probably going past some tired horses and horses toiling under riders not quite so willing to go to the pump to nick a few grand in prize money….
…. but even so it was a good effort that probably went under the radar….
When I take everything together….
…. the decision to run Pic Roc in such a deep race in the first place….
…. the money that came for him in the market….
…. and the performance he put up in adversity….
…. my read is that he could have a sight more ability than he’s yet revealed on the track….
…. and that there could be good money to be won with him – by connections and punters – in handicap chases around 3-miles off his mark of 135….
He’s worth an entry on the Watch List….
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The Coral Gold Cup was the big one – won by Panic Attack….
…. but I reckon the pick of the handicap performances at Newbury’s two-day meeting was produced by Booster Bob in the Peter O’Sullevan….
He won it easy on seasonal debut and on what was his first go beyond 2m4f….
…. backing up his Greatwood Gold Cup win at the track back in March….
…. where he beat Vincenzo 1.25 lengths….
Note: That last one was beaten by Panic Attack last time out in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham and looks an increasingly strong option for the December Gold Cup back at the same track off 139 – something the market hasn’t missed….
Booster Bob is up 7lb to 139 for Saturday’s comfortable win….
…. he’s still very much in front of the handicapper….
…. he’ll almost certainly improve for 3-miles and beyond….
…. and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if he turns out to be a Coral Gold Cup horse for Olly Murphy next term…..
There’s loads more to come and – in my book – he’s one to keep onside….
I’m adding him to my Watch List too….
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That’s all for today….
Back tomorrow….
Meantime – contact me at – nick.pullen@spapublishinggroup.co.uk
Stay tuned….
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