A Monday at Windsor, Thirsk, Sedgefield and Kempton, and a day the ratings will remember. From the 2:21 at Thirsk to the 3:30 at Sedgefield, our Top Rated won 8 races in a row, and by the end of the 5:00 at Kempton we had 14 Top Rated winners on the day. Here are the races worth talking about, in time order, plus 4 horses for the tracker. All of it is free.
8 Top Rated winners in a row
| Race | Top Rated winner | ISP |
|---|---|---|
| 2:21 Thirsk | Satyress | 2.38 |
| 2:30 Sedgefield | Tralee Girl | 1.44 |
| 2:42 Windsor | Song Of The Clouds | 3.00 |
| 2:51 Thirsk | Bladey Lady | 4.50 |
| 3:00 Sedgefield | Jeteye | 2.00 |
| 3:12 Windsor | Queen Of Scotland | 1.53 |
| 3:21 Thirsk | Majestic Jude | 1.22 |
| 3:30 Sedgefield | Mr Mcwhinny | 1.91 |
1:42 Windsor, Class 5 handicap, 1m (£4,397)
A difficult race to start with, and a very disappointing effort from our Top Rated, Knowledge. He was weak in the market, sent off 11.00, and was far too keen from the start. He went far too hard at the front and dropped away to finish a well beaten last. Kiani King was also well beaten in 10th.
So look at those just in behind. Ribenska was always up there and travelled into it nicely, but dropped away to 6th. Mertoun worked his way through the field and won it nicely at 5.00 for Jane Chapple-Hyam and Rossa Ryan.
Maria Da Silva goes on the tracker
The horse to take out of the race finished 4th. Maria Da Silva was another who was weak in the betting, sent off 21.00, and yet she ran a really good race off a break of 208 days for Andrew Balding and Callum Hutchinson.
She is very lightly raced, with this only her 6th run. She came into it off a 4th at Kempton on the all-weather in February, and before that she won twice on the Tapeta at Newcastle. She has shown here that she is more than capable on the turf, and more than capable of winning off a mark of 71. With about a furlong and a half to go she was right there, and she was only run down by horses who had had recent runs and were that bit fitter on the day. She was not.
The only other horse in the race who had not run for a while, Squiffy, was sent off 67.00 after 126 days off and finished 11th, which puts Maria Da Silva's run in context. She will step forward massively for it, and she goes on our tracker.
2:12 Windsor, 2-year-old maiden, 5f (£5,400)
A bit of a mad dash for the lead early on, and it turned out that was the place to be. Instant Force (7.50) and Red Blue Point, our Top Rated and the 1.73 favourite, were both very prominent, and they finished 1st and 2nd. Nothing really picked up from behind.
It was not the worst of maidens, and the front 2 are both colts who may not be too bad. The one we might see more from next time is Go Go Girl, a debutante for Clive Cox who ran a good race for 3rd at 34.00. She was not badly away either, so it is not that she has an excuse to step forward from; she simply ran well first time.
2:30 Sedgefield, mares' maiden hurdle (£5,446)
Tralee Girl won in reasonable style at 1.44 for Dan and Harry Skelton, and she was the 2nd of our 8 Top Rated winners in a row. She has had plenty of experience. She won 3 times on the Flat for Michael Bell, and she had already had 4 runs over hurdles before this.
Bear in mind she ran in the Shaker Fillies Juvenile Hurdle at Newbury, a Listed race, and was beaten by Highland Crystal, who went on to run in the Triumph Hurdle and was only beaten 5.5 lengths. She is rated 115 and she was more than expected to win this. She did.
You Be Lucky Jean goes on the tracker
But give credit to the runner-up. You Be Lucky Jean, making her hurdles debut at 4.50 for Micky Hammond and Sean Quinlan, was given a fair amount to do. With Tralee Girl making all the running, she looked to be given a learning ride, going past horses and picking them off before coming under pressure turning into the straight.
At that point it looked as though she had won a couple of easy bumpers and no more. But coming to the last she really got going, came through a gap between the eventual 3rd and 4th, ran on really strongly and was closing on Tralee Girl at the line. For a mare on her hurdles debut against one rated 115 having her 5th run over hurdles, we thought that was a very, very good effort. It will be very interesting to see what mark she gets. She goes on our tracker, and we are sure she will win a race very soon.
3:12 Windsor, maiden fillies' stakes (£6,480)
The once-raced Queen Of Scotland was a hot favourite at 1.53 for George Boughey, and she did everything as expected. She jumped out nicely, let the experienced Seacole make the running and sat in 2nd. Billy Loughnane always had things covered. He nudged her a couple of times to go alongside, and then, without really getting serious, pushed her past.
It probably was not the best of races, and the newcomers did not show much. It is not a race we are that interested in going forward, other than to say the winner did it well enough, and she was the 6th Top Rated winner in a row.
3:30 Sedgefield, handicap chase (£3,248)
Just 5 runners, and a short-priced Top Rated in Mr Mcwhinny at 1.91 for T Ellis and Jack Andrews. He was held up in the second line and made a couple of mistakes, but just before the turn into the straight you could see he was still full of running. Jack Andrews was trying to restrain him and he was pulling his way to the front. From there it was a gentle jog down the straight past his rivals over the last couple, and a very comfortable win.
That made it 8 Top Rated winners in a row.
4:00 Sedgefield, handicap hurdle (£3,248)
After a couple of races where Top Rated did not win, we were straight back to it. Aimeric won at 3.75 for Jennie Candlish, beating the favourite William Yeats at 2.20, who was our RTR 2. Sean Quinlan gave him a really strong drive to get the better of him.
Top Rated beating the favourite
That was the 2nd time on the day that Top Rated went off second favourite and beat a favourite who was our RTR 2. The first was at Windsor at 2:42, when Song Of The Clouds (3.00) beat Wootz (1.44). Later at Kempton, Ramensky made it 3.
Interestingly, on both of the first 2 occasions we thought Top Rated was going to get beaten. Both favourites travelled well, but for one reason or another could not put the race to bed. One of them had drifted, and the other just did not find as much as its jockey thought it would.
4:12 Windsor, Class 4 handicap, 1m 3f (£5,653)
Once again, it was won by our Top Rated. King Of Berkshire was the 2.38 favourite and was well supported in the NAP competition. The 3-year-old colt was dropping down in class for Andrew Balding, who is having a great season, and he was allowed to dictate from the front. He quickened away when asked under Callum Hutchinson, who has also had a good season, and was a very easy winner.
For us, that is something other jockeys should be looking at. You cannot allow a horse who has been running in better races to go and dictate. You have to take him on, especially when he is the favourite. Because it was so easy for the winner, it is hard to take anything from those in behind.
4:21 Thirsk, Class 5 handicap, 7f (£3,926)
Another Top Rated winner. Mo Anam Chara came down the middle of the track and was a very comfortable winner at 3.50 for Geoffrey Harker.
Showtown goes on the tracker
The only horse of interest in behind was the Kevin Ryan-trained Showtown, 2nd at 23.00, who had not been showing anything recently. He returned to the turf after disappointing at Newcastle and stepped up to 7f, and it was his first run over 7f. He looked outpaced early on and looked like he needed further, and yet he bumped into our Top Rated on his first try at the trip. Maybe 7f to a mile is what he wants.
He has dropped significantly in the handicap, from a first mark of 73 to 62 now. They have mixed things around with cheekpieces and blinkers, and this was probably his best run for a while. He is one who could go in next time, and he goes on our tracker.
4:30 Sedgefield, novices' limited handicap hurdle (£3,248)
Another Top Rated winner, and a nervy one. Littletown Lad had an R1 figure of 129.9, the best last-time-out figure in the field, so you could see why he was Top Rated, why he was well supported in the NAP competition, and why he was our NAP of the day.
He travelled like he was much better than a 2.25 shot. He travelled like an odds-on horse. But it got nerve-racking late on, because he did not want to knuckle down, and you could see why Jonathan England left it so late on him. It was a hugely patient ride. He was actually headed in the final couple of hundred yards and only got his head down at the right time, winning by a short head. He looked like he would win by a long way and ended up winning by a short head. A bit tricky, but a Top Rated winner and a NAP winner all the same.
4:51 Thirsk, Class 5 fillies' handicap, 7f 218y (£3,926)
Another Top Rated winner. Fractional won at 5.00 for William Haggas, who won this race last year with Day Of Grace. Fractional is very unexposed and lightly raced, and came into the race still a maiden after 6 runs.
Unlike Littletown Lad, who looked like winning by a long way and then did not, this one did not look like winning at all until she did. She was pushed along from a relatively early stage, was not going the speed she needed, and looked in trouble. She was 5th or 6th with a furlong to go before she really got going, sprinted home and won cosily in the end. She is sure to go up in trip next time.
5:00 Kempton, handicap, 1m 7f 218y (£4,187)
Just 2 runners, and another Top Rated winner. Ramensky won at 2.63 for Emma Lavelle and Oisin Murphy, beating the odds-on favourite Femme Fatale at 1.44, who was our RTR 2. That is the 3rd time on the day Top Rated beat a favourite who was our RTR 2, and remarkably, Ramensky was having his first run for 811 days.
5:21 Thirsk, Class 5 handicap, 7f (£3,926)
Really interesting, and really frustrating. We had already seen a few winners come down the middle of the track, so it was disappointing to see our Top Rated, Red Hat Eagle, sat on the inside under Cieren Fallon, even more so because Fallon had not stayed on the inside on Fractional in the previous race at Thirsk. It was definitely down the middle of the track that you wanted to be.
Red Hat Eagle ran into all sorts of trouble. At about the 2-furlong pole, the long-time leader Avatar Jet, who had been well supported, was completely in his way. At that point the eventual 1st and 2nd were building up a head of steam down the outside, including the winner Forest Caper under Daniel Tudhope, while Red Hat Eagle was stuck in a pocket behind the leader.
He did eventually get out, and Fallon gave him a few reminders at the furlong pole. When it did not look as though he was going to win, in our view the jockey gave up very quickly. We were concerned he would miss out on 3rd. He did not, and hung on for 3rd at 4.50, but it looked to us like a case of: we are not winning, so I am giving up.
Red Hat Eagle goes on the tracker
We are convinced Red Hat Eagle would have gone very close, if not won, with the right ride. He was 2nd at Lingfield last time as our Top Rated and he has come down from 75 in June to 70. Put him in your tracker. We have.