An impressive debutant winner on Friday by first season sire Charm Spirit was followed up by a nice double on Saturday which included YAFTA winning the big sprint handicap from Newmarket. THE PADDOCKS could not have been more impressive on his debut at Newbury and put the race to bed in good style. Owned by Jared Sullivan and Merribelle Irish Farm Ltd, he was always to the fore and picked up well when asked for an effort in the closing stages. ‘We have always liked this horse and felt the six furlongs races would suit him better. This is always a very competitive race and I feel he will be worth waiting with now for Royal Ascot. He will improve massively for the experience and so we should have plenty of fun with him this year.’
The double on Saturday was opened with YAFTA who got there late on in the piece and stretched clear in the closing stages for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum. ‘He ran very well on his reappearance and has gone one better. He will no doubt get further than this in time and he is a horse we will look at Royal Ascot with. There are a couple of options but the Jersey would rate highly on the list. That was a valuable pot to have won and there is more to come from him.’
The second winner of the day came at Doncaster in the last for Al Shaqab Racing where AL BARG got the job done in first time blinkers under Pat Dobbs. ‘He wasn’t putting his all in last time at Lingfield and the blinkers have done the trick. He has plenty of ability and needs to be produced late on. He should be able to go on from here and gather a few more handicaps this year.’
The final winner of the weekend came at Ripon where TIGRE DU TERRE won impressively. He went off the 1/10 Fav for Middleham Park Racing and never looked like getting caught. ‘He is a nice horse and has been running well all year. This should be a good confidence booster for him and he will go on from this. He will more than likely end up at Royal Ascot as well and we can have a look at the Brittania for him.’
Today's action comes from Leicester and Windsor. COME ON LECIESTER runs in the first and should be very competitive under Ryan Moore.