Bo Bridget ran a cracking race for us at Navan at the
weekend and a furlong out I thought she was going to go on and win. Colin Keane
angled her out wide to chase down the eventual winner Happy Company but her
effort just flattened out in the final 75 yards or so and she had to settle for
3rd. Perhaps the stiff uphill finish at Navan just stretched her stamina and
returned to a flatter track she can get her head in front.
 |
| David Loughnane is 2/3 at Salisbury. |
This Thursday I like the look of one at Salisbury and
regular readers of the blog might remember me tipping up this filly a few weeks
ago on her third maiden start when she was upped in trip to 7f. Fenagh ran a
very disappointing race that day at Kempton but I don’t think she is one to
write off just yet and on the form of her penultimate run over 6f at Chepstow
(gd) she looks well worth giving another chance to off an opening mark of 67.
She was badly outpaced in the first half of that race at
Chepstow and a couple of furlongs out she only had one behind. However, the
penny seemed to drop inside the last 2f and she made up ground quickly on the
leaders in the closing stages. She ended up in 4th, beaten just 2L for the win
and the way she stayed on suggested that a step up to 7f would be absolutely
ideal.
She got that step up in trip on her next start on the all
weather at Kempton when tried over 7f for the first time but the way she was
ridden suggested she was there for her mark rather than to win. Her jockey
posted her very wide throughout and she must have travelled an extra furlong in
comparison to her rivals. It was no surprise to see her fade into last in the
closing stages and I think it makes sense to put a line through that run.
She should be much better suited by the straight 7f at
Salisbury and her trainer David Loughnane applies the cheek pieces for the
first time. They will hopefully sharpen her up in the early stages and get her
to travel better for Harry Bentley. Another cause for optimism is Loughnane’s
record at Salisbury. He has had just three runners at the track and two of
those have won for a strike rate of 66%.
From a handicapping perspective, I think an opening mark of
67 is more than fair if you look at the form of her run at Chepstow. The winner
of that race, She Believes, was 2L ahead of Fenagh and she won successive
handicaps afterwards off marks of 74 and 79 and she is now rated 95. The runner
up was 2nd beaten just over 2L off 77 on his next outing and the 3rd won a Novice
next time out and is now rated 74.
Fenagh has a nice pedigree too, by a sire that has made a
good start with his first crop of 2yos this year and out of a King’s Best mare
whose dam is a half sister to top class sprinter Dandy Man. The ground is
likely to dry out from the current description of good to soft with a warm
breezy forecast for Thursday, so Fenagh should encounter identical ground to
what she ran on at Chepstow. If she can reproduce that Chepstow run here I can
see her running a big race and at odds of 20/1 she is worth chancing each way.
STEVOS’ SELECTION:
14.20 SALISBURY-FENAGH E/W @ 20/1 (4 places Ladbrokes)
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