Korker looks a time-handicap ‘cert’ in the Novice Stakes over five furlongs of ‘soft’ Carlisle today, judged on my initial glance/analysis of his first-up effort over a similar distance at York sixteen days ago; it looked too good to be true but I’m not in the habit of becoming negative with race-time computation which confirmed first impression was indeed sound.
Karl Burke’s charge, a ‘wild card’ 25/1 chance obviously ran way above expectations but blew the start due to running green; soon the penny dropped and the Dandy Man colt improved at halfway, tanked into contention and amazingly failed by only a neck to beat Project Dancer with a clutch of ‘super-breds’ from highly fashionable yards well beaten. It was, apparently, a complete surprise but we all love surprises!
At this point I’ll mention an aversion to backing Burke’s runners over the years but Karl is enjoying a tremendous campaign; bias and superstition make for stupidity and given Korker must surely improve for the experience, and has been given decent ‘recovery time’, this must represent a serious betting proposition if evens or better.
In this day and age with world-wide markets and monster turnover you never know how a market is going to react, especially when a punting yard has a fancy for a two-year-old which, reportedly, has been ‘flying’ on home gallops.
It’s so often in contrast to what occurs on the ‘first day at school’ which established trainers realise is crucial; let’s not beat about the bush the bulk of them send out ‘non-triers’ to test the water and I’m aware, from long experience specialising with juveniles, of ‘qualifiers’ and shrewdies. It’s a fascinating age group, Korker could be anything!
So could Immelmann, twice-raced German-bred gelding which has a gilt-edged opportunity of going one better in division two of a Maiden Fillies’ Stakes over ten Furlongs of ‘soft’ Yarmouth under Adam Kirby who, reported in this column, rides John Leeper in the Epsom Derby a week tomorrow.
Immelmann improved considerably from her debut when beaten just over a length on a similar surface around Chester three weeks back and what beats Simon Crisford’s charge will win.
I’ve been in tremendous form but following five successive winning naps, ‘seconditis’ has struck the last three selections.
Never mind consistency usually brings reward and I’ll bet all of them are serious contenders next time out; patience and understanding are the crux when betting professionally. Just wait and see!
Selections, Carlisle, 1.00 Korker; Yarmouth, 3.05 Immelmann (e.w); Haydock, 6.10 Eileendover (e.w).
Jeffrey Ross, horse-racing correspondent for WMN since 1983 when winning the most prestigious racing journalist award, Sporting Life Naps Table, before winning it a record number of six times collectively in the Racing Post, the current ‘trade’ paper, including 2019