Following a blitz (And losers!) but a satisfying November I’ll hopefully kick-off December successfully with juicy pickings from twice-raced Judy’s Park in the Novice Stakes over six furlongs of Kempton polytrack which opens the obligatory and hugely-popular ‘Wednesday-nighter!’
Well I’ve always enjoyed the weekly floodlit spectacular even though attendances have never quite matched consistent quality programmes served up both on the racecourse and dining room.
Judy’s Park certainly meets median requirement for this class 5 dash on the back of a length third to Axopar on Newcastle tapeta last month; the Charming Thought filly improved her actual time-figure considerably and rates a solid bet against shallow rivals under James Doyle, an automatic ‘top five’ jockey, reliable and consistent.
Two divisions of the Fillies’ Novice Stakes over a mile of Lingfield ‘poly’ will be intriguing, littered with expensive first-up superbreds and only once-raced Sir Michael Stoute-trained has achieved a decent mark but is drawn widest under Richard Kingscote in the first leg.
I’ll have to include this Australia filly in the each-way patent but the rest of another eight-racer doesn’t appeal; Readysteadybeau does in a nine-runner Maiden Hurdle over three miles of ‘soft’ Haydock if, hopefully, the Lancashire course survives an inspection. Since the country was covered in snow Monday the temperature has ‘soared’ to eight degrees fahrenheit, phew!
Be ‘Ready’ because this is a FUN (follow up nap) proposition which is ‘thrown in’ on the back of an eye-catching run at Ayr last month; same jockey, Stephen McQueen, for Lucinda Russell’s charge.
Selections, Haydock, 1.15 Readysteadybeau (nap-e.w); Lingfield, 2.30 Equal Share (e.w); Kempton, 4.00 Judy’s Park.
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