Unfortunately, Maljoom could never land a blow in the Juddmonte. He settled well and travelled ok but the 3yos were simply too good. The debate continues to rage about City Of Troy and he undoubtedly benefitted from being allowed a soft lead. However, he is building quite a CV and while he is no Frankel or Sea The Stars, he is a very, very good horse.
On Friday, the feature race at York is the Nunthorpe. This Group 1 sprint is always extremely competitive and this year is no different. Last year’s winner, Live In The Dream, has been targeted at this again and he is likely to be trained to the minute. His odds of 12/1 look far too big and he has a handy draw in stall 5.
Capable Of Winning A G1
Asfoora and Big Evs are others with obvious claims but last
year’s fourth, Makarova, is the one I have come down on at odds of 25/1. I
believe this mare has a G1 win in her and so does her trainer Ed Walker. I was
convinced that her first win at the top table would come at Royal Ascot but the
decision to put blinkers on backfired and while she wasn’t disgraced, she ended
up seventh of 17, 4L behind Asfoora.
The blinkers lit her up that day and she raced far closer to
the pace than usual. Those early exertions took their toll and she faded out of
it in the final furlong. With the blinkers taken off, she returned to her best
on her next two starts.
Blinkers Off
Firstly, she landed the G3 Coral Charge at Sandown (5f, sft)
(Live In The Dream 3L back in third). Then, she lost very little in defeat
behind Believing at the Curragh in the Sapphire Stakes, third beaten 2.25L
after meeting traffic problems. I think with a clearer run she can get much
closer to that rival (8/1 here).
She was beaten the same distance in this last year at huge odds
behind Live In The Dream. She was only 0.5L behind Bradsell (6/1 here) and she
is 2lb better off with him. She should get the strong pace she craves here,
Hector Crouch knows her well and she isn’t too badly drawn in stall 9. At odds
of 25/1, Makarova is worth backing e/w.
2024 Nunthorpe Stakes Tip: Makarova e/w @ 25/1 (4 places)
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