Sink the bookies with Fathom Five
Saturday sees the return of the Shergar Cup meeting at Ascot, where riders representing four teams from Great Britain, Ireland, Europe and the Rest of the World will do battle for this prestigious trophy. The opening race on the card is the Shergar Dash at 2.10pm and Ireland can land the first blow, courtesy of the Chris Wall trained Fathom Five.
He got off the mark for the season at the first time of asking, when getting up in the shadow of the post to beat Rocket Rob by three parts of a length in a handicap at Epsom. On his next outing, he returned to Epsom for the valuable sprint on Derby Day and was a little unlucky in running. When going for a gap at the furlong pole, he had the door firmly slammed shut by the horses in front. Under the circumstances, he did well to keep on for seventh place behind eventual winner Bertoliver.
His run at Sandown last time was a strange performance as he raced far too keenly at the head of the field. To be at his best, this six-year-old needs to be sitting in behind the leaders, but he clearly failed to get any sort of cover. However, he should have no problems getting that here, with a larger field and a fast pace assured. His Jockey for the day is Fran Berry, who has replaced the now retired Mick Kinane, as stable jockey to John Oxx. He has had an excellent season too and currently sits in second place in the Irish Jockeys’ championship.
Fol Hollow, trained by David Nicholls could spring back to form and pose the main threat. The stable appear to have hit some form, bagging five winners in the past week and although this five-year-old gelding does not immediately catch the eye, he has performed well enough to suggest he could be a danger.
He got off the mark for the season in a valuable handicap at Thirsk, where he held off the persistent challenge of Captain Dunne by three parts of a length. He followed that with an even better run in defeat, when he contested a very good handicap at Epsom. Having taken up the running, well inside the final furlong, he looked sure to score until David Barron’s Flipando came with a wet sail to get up on the line.
Admittedly, he was rather disappointing last time in a decent handicap at this track, where he finished well behind Masamah. However, to be fair, he had excuses, as his high draw was a complete disadvantage on that occasion. Coming out of stall six here, he will surely be seen in a better light, and if anywhere near his best, he will be a danger to all, and ridden by Jim Crowley, he looks Great Britain’s best chance of success.
However, the European team is likely to have the favourite for the first race, in the shape of Prohibit. Christophe Soumillon will take the ride aboard Robert Cowell’s consistent five-year-old, whose position as market leader comes on the back of a terrific performance on his final outing in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood. At one stage, he was travelling so well he looked likely to win. However, he lacked that extra turn of foot inside the final furlong and had to settle for third place behind Evens And Odds.
As good as his form may be, a look at his profile shows that all his winning has been done over six furlongs, and therefore the drop back to the minimum here is not certain to suit. He may also be paying the price for his consistency, as he continues to rise in the handicap, without actually winning. Although he deserves some reward for his efforts, he is likely to find a couple too good here and is worth opposing.
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