The Daily Yankee
NAP OF THE DAY: Thyme Hill, (1500 Newbury), 1pt win, 4/1:
A quality staying hurdle. Reigning Cheltenham champ Lisnagour Oscar confirmed the suspicion of a fluke by getting whooped at Wetherby but may still improve. Dethroned champ Paisley Park is some price if you can put a line through that Cheltenham aberration but we’d want to see that before we backed it. McFabulous gets his ground and arrives in form, but it’s hard to see how his form entitled him to an official rating 2lbs higher that Thyme Hill whose Grade 1 win here in the Challow was followed by a close fourth in the finish of the festival in what may transpire to be a vintage Albert Bartlett. The form of that race is already looking substantial and he didn’t get the best of runs at the death. He has huge scope to improve further and should really swap places in the betting with McFab based on achievement.
Anemoi, (1245 Newbury), 4/1: the favourite here is Eritage who is up 3lbs for being the last man standing in a race he wasn’t going to win but for fallers. We much prefer the form of a hard fought Chepstow handicap in which Anemoi beat Financier by a short head. Neither have been badly treated for what was a bunched finish, but that could be a high quality early novice handicap. Financier was making his seasonal debut there and is a pound better off, however we were very impressed by Anemoi, whose efforts to hold off the pack from the front looked doomed after a bad blunder 2 out. It was to his credit that he was regathered, found a huge leap at the last and came again to get up on the line. That suggests there is more to come and this track should suit ideally.
Oldgrangewood, (1403 Newbury), 9/2: denied us a big payout in this race last year when getting up to short head Kalashnikov. A series of big runs later and he now returns 12lbs higher. That’s a stiff ask, but this year’s race doesn’t have the depth of unexposed talent of the 2019 edition, and with his known liking for conditions he has a big chance. He has to improve past Clondaw Castle on their Aintree runs, but this is his track and he can defend his crown.
Hill Sixteen, (1535 Newbury), 2/1: this horse poses a bit of a quandary. We napped him at Ffos Las on debut for the Twiston-Davies yard and he won by miles and he goes up massively in the weights from tomorrow. Here he runs off a 3lb lower mark making him 10lbs well in. The issue is that was 2m4f on heavy over fences and this is 3m on good over hurdles. Like a curry Pot Noodle, everything screams avoid, but we’ll reach for the kettle and take our chances.
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