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Horse racing: Johnston and Gosden can stay in the News
Middleham handler Mark Johnston and Newmarket trainer John Gosden are quietly making hay on the all-weather with impressive strike rates of late.
Expect those impressive stats to be bolstered tomorrow with Southern State for Johnston (4pm) and News Desk for Gosden (5pm) both fancied at Lingfield.
Tomorrow’s jumps racing comes from Kelso and Southwell and with an Irish helping from Fairyhouse added to the mix, the day will feel chock-a-block compared to what we have been used to of late.
Only one meeting – at Wolverhampton – took place yesterday as Catterick and Plumpton both fell by the wayside but Johnston has kept the winners ticking over and Southern State looks tomorrow’s all-weather banker.
He must have been very short odds in running in another Lingfield maiden two weeks ago when he swopped into a clear lead turning for home and looked all over the winner that day.
Ultimately, Southern State only finished third as both winner Kangaroo Court and Broughton Sands overtook him and it has to be said that Kangaroo Court – beaten at 11-10 the other day – has done nothing for the form since.
However, it was still a very respectable effort from Southern State who has still only had two runs and who is an expensive horse who is still maturing.
The excellent form of his stable is another big plus and the deal is sealed by the weakness of tomorrow’s contest with Frederick William the forecast second favourite but hardly any great shakes with a rating of just 65.
Having cost over $200,000, it will be disappointing if Southern State does not end up different class and he looks something of a shoe-in tomorrow with his forecast odds of 6-5 likely to be wide of the mark.
Still, let’s hope he is indeed close to that price as there will be some long faces in Middleham if he doesn’t go in.
Likewise it will be a similar tale in Newmarket if News Desk doesn’t land the Lingfield finale.
Gosden won’t have many horses rated 60 in his yard and being out of a Group-placed 6f 2yo winner, News Desk should end up some way better than that.
So far she has looked no great shakes in three maiden races and merely plodded on into third last time but it was probably quite a good race with the winner, Samedi, well thought of and the fourth horse, Burke’s Rock, bolting up on Saturday.
This also looks a very weak contest and even though she has got to carry joint top weight of 9st 7lbs, News Desk should have sufficient class to do that before going on to better things.
There’s other runners that can be reasonably well fancied tomorrow including Australia Fair who will win Lingfield’s opener for Charlie Hills if anything like half decent.
Boots And Spurs is the one he has to beat but he didn’t look very good at all last time.
Rezwaan (3.30pm Lingfield), Copper Canyon (4.30pm Lingfield) and Tinkled (7.10pm Kempton) are other last-time out winners that have good chances of going in again but we’ll finish with a horse that was runner-up last time in the shape of Trecase (5.10pm Kempton).
He beat all bar the well-handicapped Sylas Ings last time, runs off the same mark and has new apprentice sensation Darren Edward Egan taking off another five pounds.
That’ll do for me.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 8 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: East
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