Ante-Post Update

Still a bit down on the flat and I have to say recent results have been encouraging but painful. Three of the last four horses I've backed have led inside the final furlong only to find one too good.

I'm going against St Nicholas Abbey (my Arc fancy) for his next race, the King George at Ascot. I don't think the short straight there will see him to his best advantage and he looks a poor favourite to me when you consider that Rewilding is in the line-up. That horse was impressive in winning the Prince of Wales at the Royal Meeting and he looks to have improved significantly from three to four. He's the price he is (11/4) because there is a theory that he needs lots of time between races to recover. That may have been a legitimate reason for his defeat in the St Leger last year but I think a year's maturity may have sorted that out. In any event it's being overplayed in the market.

Update 18/7
Since the above entry Workforce has been pretty much confirmed for the King George. This means Rewilding has naturally drifted so I have stepped in again. It also has a knock on effect with regard to the Arc. I don't like King George runners in that race (not too happy about St Nic running at Ascot) and am against last year's winner for the race. A hard race at Sandown and now running on Saturday is not the ideal prep. For that reason, allied with doubts in my mind about the quality of the middle distance 3yo's I have backed Sarafina at 10s. She had a horrible passage when third in the race last year and has been in good form so far this. Her last run doesn't look like mammoth form but she didn't settle at all in a very slowly run race yet picked up really well at the business end. She's clearly trained on and will naturally be given the typical French prep for their biggest race.

King George:
Rewilding £80w @ 32/10

Ebor:
Fox Hunt £10w @ 16/1

Arc:
St Nicholas Abbey £15w @ 16/1
Sarafina £20w @ 10/1


----------------------
Arkle:
Sprinter Sacre £20w @ 12/1