Kipchak to hit hat trick at Brighton
Con Dore’s five-year-old gelding Kipchak has had a productive year so far winning four times, and at Brighton on Wednesday, he will be attempting to land his third consecutive victory. In order to do so, he will have to beat off some stiff competition in the John Smith’s Brighton Mile Challenge Trophy at 3.30pm. A bold front-runner, he will also have to cut across from his wide draw in stall 13, but he is very quick out of the gate and should be able to do just that.
On his penultimate outing at Lingfield, he made virtually every yard to beat Cavendish Road by three parts of a length in a handicap over a mile. He repeated the same trick a week later over that course and distance but this must go down as an even better performance. Running off a four-pound higher mark, he left the opposition trailing in his wake as he recorded a three-length success over Crystallize.
As that run came in an apprentice’s race, he is able to race off the same mark here, so is clearly well handicapped. With conditions in his favour, he looks sure to make a bold bid for victory. However, there are several others here worthy of consideration, none more so than Very Well Read, who will be fancied by many following his success on his final outing.
Trained by Peter Hiatt, the seven-year-old mare has looked as good as ever this term and his last win, which came in a Redcar handicap, was his fourth of the season. It was actually a very good performance considering he stumbled, coming out of the gate. Fortunately, there was no pace early on and his rivals allowed him to recover, before taking over at the head of affairs and battling on well when challenged in the closing stages.
However, a major concern would have to be the course itself. All of his best form seems to come on essentially galloping tracks and Brighton is renowned for being very sharp. His previous efforts at similarly sharp venues have met with failure and it would be no surprise if a poor run were to occur. With such a profile, he looks worth opposing.
Lower down the weights, there is an interesting three-year-old in the shape of Al Joza. Trained by Clive Brittain, this Dubawi filly left all her previous form well behind when contesting a handicap at Windsor at the end of June. Taking up the running at the two-furlong pole, she stuck her neck out in game fashion to fight off the late challenge of Our Drama Queen and score by a head. She has been raised seven-pounds for that effort, but there is certainly scope for improvement, having made just five appearances to date.
There are few trainer’s able to match Roger Charlton’s record at this track, and over the past five season’s, he has accumulated seven winners from just 16 runners. With statistics such as those, his entrants always warrant respect, and such is the case with Cheam Forever, a four-year-old gelding who appears to be coming to hand.
Having looked a little below par in his first four starts of the current campaign, he showed definite signs of a revival on his penultimate outing at Chepstow, where he ran well for a long way before coming home in fourth place behind You’ve Been Mowed. He then improved significantly when last seen at Pontefract, where he attempted to make all the running in a handicap over a mile. Looking all over the winner, he tired in the final strides, allowing Flying Silks to snatch victory from his grasp.
He has a nice draw in stall three to attempt those tactics again, and this sharper track should enable his stamina to last a little longer. In fact, he is a previous course and distance winner and overall appears to have an excellent chance on the book. The only concern would be whether he can grab the lead, as Kipchak is an extremely fast starter. Nevertheless, he looks sure to go well and he should be thereabouts at the finish.
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