When Alcala held Wadswick Court with a hint of more to come in last year's Summer Plate (Days Of Heaven seventh), the winner's name went straight into the notebook - in capital letters.
Twelve months later Wadswick Court is on a mark ten pounds higher for tomorrow's Market Rasen feature (3.15) while Paul Nicholls' charge, set to carry top weight, is rated just one pound higher which tells a story all of its own - mostly about the sort of stuff you're likely to encounter in my racing notebook.
Five weeks ago stablemate Bagad Bihoue beat Alcala three and a half lengths at Newton Abbot with Viconte Du Noyer a nose adrift in third and Days Of Heaven pulled up following a howler at the ninth. On the revised terms there wouldn't be an awful lot between the first three home while I've suffered burned fingers with the rather misleadingly-named Days Of Heaven in the past.
Shantou Village can boast some decent form but has been out of sorts of late - Paul Kealy advertises his chance in the Weekender - while Cut The Corner's second to Starchitect last November reads well but this race has gone the way of a younger horse in the preceding five years.
Callet Mad, owned by Simon Munir and Issac Suede, has mixed hurdling and chasing to good effect to date and his chance is respected, as is that of More Buck's, now trained by Peter Bowen who is known to regularly target this event.
Of the two at the bottom of the handicap Too Many Diamonds looks to have improved following wind surgery with three wins recorded at Southwell but this race asks a different question altogether; Not A Role Model could be anything and makes more appeal for those seeking an each-way wager.
Yes, there's more than a hint of midsummer madness in the air - I blame the present heatwave - but I'm going to take an each-way interest in Viconte Du Noyer (12/1 Paddy Power, a fifth the odds four places).
I'm hoping that, on revised terms, Colin Tizzard's charge can challenge the Nicholls' pair at the head of the market and that the fitting of first-time cheekpieces can eke out a little further improvement.
Friday, July 20, 2018
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