Windsor and Wolverhampton have excellent cards on Monday alongside jumping at Southwell; all three meetings are live on Sky Sports Racing; Roger Varian and William Haggas both have runners at Windsor, with William Buick riding at the Thames-side track
Monday 15 May 2023 11:22, UK
Sky Sports Racing's Elliot David is back with five more selections across this evening's card at Windsor and Wolverhampton's fixture this afternoon.
Clive Cox's well-bred three-year-old is of great interest now switched into handicaps following a gelding operation since his last run at Kempton on April 1. By Due Diligence out of Harryana To, he's a full brother to the yard's Diligent Harry (5-9 on the all-weather) and half to Harry Three (2-4 on all-weather), and clearly bred to be better than shown so far.
He's evidently been difficult, showing clear signs of inexperience on each of his first two starts before a solid run for fourth when last seen. That form has taken a really nice boost since, with both Andrew Balding's winner Grenham Bay and Alice Haynes' runner-up Fix You combining for a perfect 3-3 record since.
That already makes his mark of 67 attractive but I'd keep in mind that Diligent Harry has seemed a far more straightforward customer since his own gelding op and in a clearly precocious family this may be exactly what was needed to see Due Date show his true colours. At odds of 13/2 (at the time of writing) he makes solid each-way appeal.
With his progress seemingly having somewhat stagnated, I'd be looking to take on Animate here with hopes somewhat pinned on a return to the all-weather surface for him. The drop back to 7f will be to suit, but he does have a little to prove now and the early odds make little appeal.
Having had a bit of a non-event run at Goodwood on May 6, one that will have blown off any cobwebs following a gelding op, I think Boy Browning will be winning races off his now reduced mark of 80 this season.
His Goodwood debut came in one of the hottest two-year-old maidens of 2022, yielding 17 wins from 83 total subsequent starts of the 18 individual runners. Racing disadvantageously towards the rear, he caught the eye massively when waiting for room travelling well 3f out before keeping on late having been switched left for a clear run.
As said, his reappearance run can largely be discounted as a fitness run. You only have to see Chaldean's case to see how not having a hard race can bring a horse forward and I'm expecting a good run here with Hollie Doyle in the plate.
It looks as though Roger Varian's handicap debutante Azure Angel will be all the rage in this Sprint Series Qualifier, which is fair given her attractive profile as a horse with a 2-3 record. However, she takes on her elders and encounters a softer surface for the first time here, a scenario in which she's unproven and it seems a good (hopefully not foolish) move to take her on.
William Haggas' Razeyna has shown a habit of breaking slowly in her six starts to date, something I wouldn't like to see from her wide draw here, but with pace provided by the likes of Cuban Breeze and Miss Bella Brand she may well be able to overcome that. The former finished third in last year's renewal of this but is 6lb higher here and it looks a tough ask.
Following her victory at Carlisle on July 7, the Haggas filly ran in two hot sprint handicaps, and was far from disgraced in either when coming home strongly in the closing stages. She's been kept in training at four with a clear view to further improvement and she'll have the services of Tom Marquand, who's back aboard for just the third time.
Ralph Beckett and Kirsten Rausing must have been rubbing their hands together when Alba Longa was given an opening mark of 75, one I expect her to build upon greatly in her 2023 campaign.
The daughter of Muhaarar was a clear work in progress at two, taking a step forward with each of her three runs between September 2 and October 21, the late debut indicative of a horse who would be better at three.
Her best by some distance came when encountering soft ground at Doncaster in what has turned out to be a well above average maiden. Racing keenly under Rossa Ryan, she led until 2f out when headed by what we now know to be two smart fillies in Sea Of Roses and Infinite Cosmos, both of whom could be bound for the Oaks.
Dam Alla Speranza has produced three winners from five foals to make the track so far, with each of the three recording RPRs of 90+, the best of them being Andrew Balding's Group 2 winner Shine So Bright. It would be safe to say connections will hope this filly can take a big step forward.
We've had a beautiful day [on Sunday] in and around London, with a nice drying breeze. Similar is forecast for Monday, meaning Windsor's going description may well have dried out somewhat from the soft it's currently given as. If so, that would be a question mark for likely favourite Sparks Fly, with David Loughnane's filly seeking a four-timer following a trio of soft ground victories.
With a further 3lb added to her mark plus a welter burden of 10st 2lbs to carry, she may find this a different proposition and there's likely to be some nicely-priced alternatives in here in my view, with the focus being on a trio of handicap debutants.
Having looked back at her three qualifying races and when considering the form of the Charles Hills stable this season, Exertive makes plenty of appeal under William Buick. She's not been seen since three 6-7f runs between May and July of 2022, when notably showing good improvement for a step up to 7f on the third of those starts having found 6f too sharp previously.
Half-brother Prince Of Rome reached a good level once trying handicaps in his three-year-old career and I think a further step up to the mile is going to prove the making of her. What's more, any cut in the ground doesn't look likely to hamper her with two runs on good to soft suggesting she'll handle it. Progeny of sire Expert Eye seem to enjoy some dig in the surface, with an uplift of 7.21 per cent in their strike rate when encountering good to soft or worse compared to good ground.
Hills and William Buick have been a lethal combination since the beginning of his champion jockey tilt last year. In that time the pair are 37 per cent (10-27) when combining to a level stakes profit of +£32.88.
