Eyecatchers and horses to follow – 7th October 2019
Which horses have caught the eye on their latest run?
Horses to Follow highlights the latest eye catching performances. Accompanied with detailed rationale and analysis for each horse plus, thoughts on future prospects and likely optimum racing conditions.
We aim to give you some insight and don’t recommend backing the horses blindly. You should always considering the day of the race factors, not least the opposition, the price and every other part of the jigsaw….
Hereby – Ascot Friday 4th October 2019
Stepping up from handicaps in the List Noel Murless Stakes at Ascot. Hereby needed to improve on the bare form she had posted so far and by 10lbs plus to be on a par with the best form already recorded by some of the other contenders.
She did, and in some style too. Seeing off proven soft ground performer Sapa Inca who received an exemplary ride from Hayley Turner.
Given she went into the Ascot race on the back of 3 wins, it was not a particular surprise that Hereby raised her game here. A daughter of the high-class Look Here (Oaks winner) and Pivotal, she is bred to be very good and to be suited by a test of stamina and soft ground. Stamina is a strength, she is going to be seen at her best when she finds conditions that draw this into play.
Such is Hereby’s rate of improvement, I’ll be cautious about betting against her until she is defeated.
Call Me Ginger – Ascot Saturday 5th October 2019
Call Me Ginger first caught my attention at Newcastle back in January. On debut, he posted some impressive mid-race and closing sectional times. Slowly away in a race where it was advantageous to be on the pace, it marked him down as a sprinter of considerable potential.
Next time out, again at Newcastle he nearly landed the 100/1 bets. Stepped up to a class 2 conditions race, a much better race than he contended first time out, Call Me Ginger ran another race of great potential in going down by just a neck.
We didn’t see him again until September when he turned up in a Redcar class 5 novice event which he won with a minimum of fuss. Whether he’d had a setback that had delayed his 3rd run or whether Jim Goldie is just taking his time with him I’ve no insight into.
For his latest run, he turned up at Ascot in a class 3 all age 5 furlong handicap. This was a good race with some lightly raced improving 3-year-olds and some older horses with solid handicap form. On form, coming into this race Call Me Ginger had around 15lbs, or 5 lengths to find to be competitive.
I think it shows the regard Jim Goldie holds Call Me Ginger in that he sent him to Ascot for this race. He could have chosen some easier options.
In the race itself, Call Me Ginger ran with credit and posted an improved collateral form rating. Settled out the back he made steady headway to be beaten 1 ¾ lengths crossing the line.
Untested previously on soft ground and dropping back from 6 furlongs to 5 furlongs for the first time, it is hard to say at this point what Call Me Ginger’s optimum conditions will ultimately prove to be.
Long term, it wouldn’t surprise me if Call Me Ginger was being thought of as a 2020 Ayr Gold Cup contender. At Ascot he ran off an official rating of 87, to get into an Ayr Gold Cup he would need to be rated 95 plus. Meaning he would need to be winning a few races prior and be ascending in the ratings.
With this in mind, I view Call Me Ginger as a more long term prospect and one to look to step forward in his next few runs in some of the competitive top-end sprint handicaps.
