By Lee Sobot
Published on Fri May 27 05:00:00 BST 2011
BEVERLEY’S Hilary Needler Trophy – Wednesday night’s highlight – has this year lost its Listed status, but we’ll eat our hats if the first four home from this year’s renewal aren’t Group class, never mind Listed.
And it might be a similar story on the east cost tomorrow with Gabrial the pick of a fascinating five in the Brian Yeardley Continental Two-Year-Old Trophy (3.45pm).
Like Wednesday night’s feature, this contest is Class 2 category yet all five runners – Arnold Lane, Gabrial, Hamza, Mitchum and Cravat – have the potential to be very smart indeed.
Three of the runners – Arnold Lane, Gabrial and Mitchum – are still unbeaten after winning their debuts and it is the Richard Fahey-trained Gabrial who is preferred under Paul Hanagan given the yard’s strength in depth in the two-year-old division.
This one was backed as if defeat was out of the question when scoring by two and a half lengths at Chester last time, despite sweating up beforehand and with improvement no doubt to come there seems every chance that he will go in again tomorrow.
Hanagan and Fahey look destined for a good day at Beverley tomorrow on what is a good card for its level with Monkton Vale – narrowly beaten last time – holding excellent chances in the 2.45pm.
The duo’s Artists Corner will also be well-fancied in the opener but he might have his work cut out against Mark Johnston’s Es Que Love who would have made a winning debut but for swerving all over the shop last time out.
In effect he could be viewed as a winner without a penalty and with the ever-impressing Silvestre De Sousa taking the ride, he can get it right at the second time of asking.
Brazilian-born De Sousa is looking better than ever right now – his winning ride on the Johnston-trained Vetvey was an absolute peach on Wednesday evening – and the way he is going he will one day become a champion jockey.
As it is, though, the biggest threat to our man Hanagan’s crown remains Ryan Moore and he has a decent book of rides at Haydock where Apace looks the pick in the last (5.20pm).
she was second last time but she still had 18 runners behind her and with match fitness now on her side, the three-year-old should go one better tomorrow afternoon.
Moore’s Crystal Capella is also the class act of the Listed race at 3.05pm and ought to win if fit enough to do herself justice while L’Ami Louis could be well-handicapped in the Coral.co.uk Sprint at Newmarket (3.25pm).
Henry Candy’s lightly-raced three-year-old broke the track record when winning at Salisbury last time and off just 8st 9lbs he might take some catching.
He’s a candidate for the good-priced nap we need to bang us up from fifth to the top three in the national naps table but to finish off the Saturday preview, two for Catterick to side with should be Triviality (2.30pm) and Arrivaderci (5.25pm).
Both have identical profiles having had one run and one second-placed finish to their name but there appears every chance of the two of them going one better in very average races.
Triviality was beaten by only three-quarters of a length on his debut plus his trainer, Jamie Osborne, is in form while Arrivaderci lost many lengths on her debut last year and might well have won had she got away on terms.
Best of luck whatever you back and have a great weekend.