Mark Johnston hopeful of success with Oriental Fox – Horseracing news
Mark Johnston is hopeful that his challenger Oriental Fox will be successful in the Bet365 Summer Stakes (Handicap) at Goodwood in England on Tuesday, July 30, 2013.
The five-year-old gelding has been given the best odds for victory, as his current form seems to be really impressive. His overall record is not a good one though, which will discourage the punters from gambling money in his favour.
Johnston is aware of the fact that his trainee has not won a race in quite some time and said, “He had a roundabout way of getting to Middleham as he started his career in Germany before moving to Switzerland and finally North
Yorkshire. He won in each of those countries and has run some huge races here without getting his head in front, notably last time when a short-head second to Tominator in the Northumberland Plate.”
He went onto say, “He's a progressive horse who represents my best chance of a winner at Goodwood this week. He's in the bet365 Summer Stakes on Tuesday.”
Oriental Fox has appeared in a total of 21 races, but his strike rate is below par, as he has just succeeded on a couple of occasions. He has managed to challenge his rivals with consistency though, as there have been nine times,
when he finished as a runner up or in third place.
Although the German horse has had a mixed time in the current season, he has made his team proud on a couple of times, especially in his previous outing, when he finished as a runner up after an intense battle against Tominator.
Johnston’s trainee was given a starting price of 20 to 1 for that race, but he did everything he could to cause an upset. He was held up at the start, which cost him some crucial time, but recovered brilliantly to finish second
by a short head distance. Had he been able to do a better job in the opening stages, no one would have managed to catch him.
If the talented runner delivers a similar show at Goodwood, he will definitely finish ahead of his rivals, breaking the shackles.
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