Sharp Set to Eclipse Rivals
Although still a maiden after eight attempts, the Kevin Ryan-trained horse Sharp Eclipse can finally get off the mark on Sunday by winning Redcar’s Sky Bet Summer Racing Festival handicap at 3.10pm.
A three-year-old gelding by Exceed And Excel, Sharp Eclipse has come close to breaking his duck on his last three starts, finishing runner-up on each occasion. At the beginning of June, he was the favourite for a similar handicap over a distance of six furlongs at this track. Having led two furlongs out, he looked sure to win until he was caught close to home by Pepper Lane.
He then attempted to make all the running in a handicap at Yarmouth, but ran into a well-treated rival in Bonnie Brae who found the better turn of foot in the closing stages of the contest.
Clearly desperate to find a winning opportunity, connections dropped Sharp Eclipse into a maiden event at Beverley, where he held a clear advantage entering the final furlong, until he was caught on the line by the shock 20/1 winner Alis Aquilae.
The trip of five furlongs here on a flat track should ensure that Sharp Eclipse's stamina holds out, and with Paul Hanagan taking over in the saddle, he can finally notch a victory to his name.
The Michael Dods-trained Patch Patch already has some decent form in the books including two victories, the first of which came when he was a juvenile landing a small maiden race at Carlisle.
However, this son of Avonbridge showed a marked improvement in form on his penultimate outing, when he got close to home to beat Taborcillo by three parts of a length. That win came in a fair handicap at Ayr and he put in an equally good performance last time, when finishing second to Perfect Blossom at Newcastle.
Unfortunately, he pulled far too hard in the early stages there, but still managed to get within two lengths of the winner. The form of that race has worked out particularly well, with Perfect Blossom going on to record two further successes, the last of which came in a much better contest than this.
On that form, the Michael Dods runner is likely to be a tough opponent though the stable could certainly be in better form. In the past fortnight, they have sent out 15 runners, none of which managed to land a blow.
One that has been in reasonable form, albeit at a very low level is the Lynda Stubbs trained Bronze Beau. He managed to gain his first victory on his penultimate start, when making all the running to account for Residency in a maiden selling race at Hamilton.
Although that may have given the horse a confidence boost, races do not come much worse than that, and the runners that finished behind him that day are a very poor bunch. Therefore, the form of that win is unlikely to be worth much, and the fact that he was unable to follow up in a poor claiming race at Musselburgh highlights his limited ability.
An interesting outsider here is Gower Sophia, trained by Mel Brittain and ridden by Franny Norton. Still a maiden, she has had four starts this season and has come in for good market support on each occasion. She looked likely to reward her supporters in a handicap at this track back in April, when challenging for the lead a furlong from home.
Unable to quicken, she eventually had to settle for minor honours, but it was a promising effort nonetheless. Her two runs since have not been so good though she had some excuses last time, having been hampered on several occasions. If there was support in the betting once again, then she would certainly be worth considering.
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