Kelso tomorrow with 8 runners and thoughts re Ayr last week

Bright and cold here in London where I am briefly for NTF business, looks the same at home, drying up after a wet week.

Good to soft now at Kelso and we have 8 declared runners starting with Burning it Up in the conditional jockeys handicap hurdle at 12.55. He steps up in trip and ought to have a decent chance if he stays and can return to the form of his Perth run in April – 11 run.

We are then triple handed in the 3m novice handicap chase at 1.25 , never ideal but it looks like  the perfect race for all three so they should all take their chance.

Eloi du Puy (Bruce) won three times over hurdles at Kelso and should improve for the step up in trip.  His handicap mark assumes he can run to his best hurdle form first time over fences which is far from a given.  Main objective will be a good experience to set him up for what we hope will be a good career over the larger obstacles.

Same can be said for Orkney Blue (Dom), also making his debut over fences.  He is less exposed in that he is also making his handicap debut having been placed on all his hurdle starts.  He should have plenty of upside over fences and has the additional advantage of Dom’s 10lb claim.

My Lady Elektra (Sean) has the benefit of experience having run well over fences here last month.  She steps up in class but that hasn’t phased her in the past.  10 run and three clear rounds will do for me!

The G Wizard runs in the 2m 5f maiden hurdle at 1.55, a small but select field of nice prospects.  He ran very nicely on hurdling debut at Perth and should play a part if he can build on that as I would hope – Bruce rides and 5 run.

We have two runners in the 2m novice hurdle at 2.25, both of who are returning from injury and a year off.  Very much a case of hoping for two nice runs to get the show back on the road for Gorvennec (Bruce) and Lance les Des (Sean) – both nice horses for the future, 8 run.

 

Finally we run Ballyfort in the two mile chase at 2.55, a recent course and distance winner he should have improved for that experience and ought to be involved again – Bruce rides and 7 run.

At Ayr last week we very nearly had a winner! Cavalier du Luy and Kingsman Mail both made excellent stable debuts to be 2nd, the former only just collared on the line.  Happy enough with the rest of the runners who mostly ran to expectations though Platin Moon was far too keen.