Gosden’s Filly A Dab Hand At Newbury

It’s a packed day of racing with the Curragh hosting the first of a two-day Irish Champions Weekend trials meeting, Ripon staging their most expensive race and Newbury being the main focus of attention across the water.

Gosden And Gordon To Strike Gold
John Gosden has had a memorable year to date and thanks to Enable alone it certainly is far from over yet. He doesn’t have his old ally to turn to this weekend with Frankie Dettori suspended but Gosden has called Fran Berry up to ride for him at Newbury on Saturday but it could be Josephine Gordon that ends up on the right one in the feature Group 2 Hungerford Stakes.

Gordon has picked up the ride on 8/1 shot Daban who faces the well fancied Librisa Breeze and Lennox Stakes winner Breton Rock but Daban could just be a filly who hasn’t quite showed us her best yet.

The three-year-old was third in the English 1,000 Guineas behind Winter and just touched off by Rhododendron for second and that form is almost as good as is around at the moment for fillies. This would be a different ask against older colts and geldings but she does get allowances and wasn’t disgraced against three-year-old colts at Royal Ascot. Daban may have an even bigger target than this later in the season but…

for now this race looks ideal for a trainer who is in flying form.

Carr Can Motor At Ripon
The Great St Wilfrid Handicap is hotly contested every year but course and distance winner Pipers Note looks worth taking a chance with.

The seven-year-old was a winner here earlier in the summer and only by a head so he was given a sympathetic approach by the handicapper and he backed that up a few weeks later. Pipers Note could well be vulnerable to a few younger, more progressive types, but he is only 1lb higher than his most recent win at Doncaster and wasn’t disgraced in better company against Magical Memory off level weights in a conditions race at Haydock.

A couple of spins over five-furlongs will have him fairly sharp from this but the step back up in trip to six furlongs looks his optimum trip and…

hopefully he can add a seventh course and distance win at around about 10/1.

Smullen And Nash Ready To Tango
Wednesday evening’s impressive Gowran Park winner Solar Wave will be hard to beat in the Curragh nursery on Saturday but this looks to be a good bit of placing for T For Tango by James Nash.

The colt had Sioux Nation behind when winning a Naas maiden in April and while he hasn’t troubled the judge since, he wasn’t beaten far by the 100 rated True Blue Moon at the same venue on his second start.

A trip to Royal Ascot might have been a shade ambitious but he didn’t disgrace anyone finishing mid division in the Windsor Castle Stakes and

at around 11/2 T For Tango shouldn’t be ignored for shrewd connections.

Recommended Bets:
T For Tango (11/2) – 2.55 Curragh
Pipers Note (10/1) – 3.15 Ripon
Daban (8/1) – 3.35 Newbury

*Prices correct at time of publication.