Turf Talk: Caustic Love can clean up at Musselburgh

Caustic Love can make herself the object of racegoers’ affections again in the EBF Stallions Winners Fillies’ Handicap at Musselburgh.
Joe Fanning will be aboard Caustic Love at Musselburgh. PIC: Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesJoe Fanning will be aboard Caustic Love at Musselburgh. PIC: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Joe Fanning will be aboard Caustic Love at Musselburgh. PIC: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Keith Dalgleish’s three-year-old shares top weight with her contemporary, Beryl The Petal, but is easily the pick of the pair who must shoulder 10st 1lb and concede up to more than a stone-and-a-half in the nine-runner field.

Caustic Love earned her burden when she won for the third time in five starts, at Ripon.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That length-and-three-quarter success confirmed her continued progression and, although she is up 17lb in all since the start of her winning spree, there is no reason to suspect she has reached the limit yet.

Back to seven furlongs from a mile, Caustic Love has shown winning form over even shorter – and the assistance of Joe Fanning in the saddle for the first time is no detriment either, of course.

The form standard set in the French Duncan Bibby Factors British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes is not insurmountable – so debutant Le Chiffre comes into the reckoning.

David O’Meara’s Zoffany colt has prospects at this sharp seven furlongs on pedigree, out of a mare who was a five-time winner over five and six for the same connections.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Owner David Armstrong appears keen to win the Dorothea Hawthorne Memorial Handicap, supplying two of the 12 runners for different trainers.

Paul Midgley’s Lathom looks the likeliest of the two.

York was too much for the six-year-old last month, despite his billing as favourite, and he is comfortably held by his owner’s Holmeswood on that running. But Lathom was previously in fine form at this minimum trip, and will be hard to peg back if he can get to the front.

At Catterick, Ruby Wonder has done enough in three of her four career starts to suggest she can strike for the first time in the opening Oops A Daisy Florists Median Auction Maiden Stakes.

She finished last of 18 when O’Meara gave her a shot at York Listed company – but that level of ambition is telling in this class, and if Ruby Wonder can replicate the level of placed efforts at Beverley and Ripon at this minimum trip, she should be in business.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

O’Meara may be set for a decent day on his doorstep in Yorkshire, having found a feasible opportunity for well-drawn debutante Strictly Legal in the Secret Spa Fillies’ Novice Stakes – while his Lamloom also has obvious prospects off top weight in the Ernest Norris (1919-1992) Memorial Handicap.

There may be only limited reason to get too excited about Lingfield’s largely low-grade card, although Restless Endeavour catches the eye in the Rahman Ravelli EBF Fillies’ Novice Median Auction Stakes.

Jamie Osborne’s filly appears to be learning on the job, but that did not stop her getting off the mark at the second attempt last time.

After that narrow win at Kempton, and a debut second at Chelmsford – both at this same seven-furlong trip – Restless Endeavour completes the full set of the south’s all-weather tracks with this trip to Surrey.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She is required to concede 7lb all round, including to the promising Follia, but there is nonetheless every likelihood she will get the job done again.

In the opening Watch Sky Sports Racing In HD Handicap, Cieren Fallon is back on Born To Reason – and with his valuable 5lb claim, much is in their favour over this relatively easy mile and a half.

SOBOT’S SELECTIONS

CATTERICK: 2.20 Ruby Wonder, 2.50 Stormin Tom (treble), 3.20 Strictly Legal, 3.50 Lamloom, 4.20 Euro Implosion, 4.55 Groupie, 5.25 Lucky Beggar.

KEMPTON: 5.55 National Treasure, 6.25 Mums Hope, 6.55 Khabeerah, 7.25 Swansdown, 7.55 Alma Linda, 8.25 Blame It On Sally, 8.55 Stallone.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

LINGFIELD: 2.00 Born To Reason (next best), 2.30 Ample Plenty, 3.00 Danglydontask, 3.30 Harry Beau, 4.00 Restless Endeavour, 4.30 Lets Go Lucky, 5.00 Napping.

MUSSELBURGH: 2.10 Le Chiffre, 2.40 Lathom, 3.10 The Grey Zebedee, 3.40 CAUSTIC LOVE (NAP), 4.10 Osmosis, 4.40 Clearance, 5.10 Cuba Ruba.

WORCESTER: 4.45 Double Court, 5.15 Wolfcatcher, 5.45 Shantou Sunset, 6.15 Jen’s Boy, 6.45 Hummdinger, 7.15 Bathiva, 7.45 Field Exhibition.DOUBLE: Born To Reason and Caustic Love.

Related topics: