Well I hope some of you availed yourself of the 20/1 about Damika in the Great St Wilfred, I had mentioned his chance on Thursday after the draw and he remained at 20/1 until before the race. Granted he only just won but there never is much between these sprinters and that is why the form changes round so much.
Tajneed ran a good race in 2nd but I had an idea he would be beat today and I think the non runners made a real difference as he didnt come out straight from the stalls and although he got to the front he had to do more than was required. I had mentioned on tuesday that 8/1 was a good price for him then and by the time of the race there was no ew value left.
I'm not sure what prompted the big gamble on Novellen Lad who was as high as 28/1 in the morning and at one stage before the race he went to 9/1, if anyone knows why he was backed so please let me know as he has previously liked fast ground.
Signor Peltro who finished 3rd was one of my horses to follow and some would say that he was unlucky today in not finishing closer than he did.
I thought Pricewise's comments on the race in general smacked of him not having studied the race in detail, he seemed to be following the obvious as far as Tajneed was concerned and it was pretty much a re run of what I had said on tuesday save for his selection of Fullandby who has had his day.
I also thought it suprising that those seeking the half million Scoop 6 pot did not include the winner, for me he was one of the leading fancies.
After the race Damikas's trainer said :
“He is a horse who can't go on firm so I was praying for rain. I’m surprised nobody thought about him for the race. He’ll go for the Ayr Gold Cup, which was always the plan.”