Weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes: 12th – 14th July

Plenty of racing to pick through last week to pull together my ‘Handicap Sleeper’ notes… maybe TOO MUCH racing… especially when you consider the fact there were a whopping ELEVEN flat meetings in the UK across Friday and Saturday… and NONE on Sunday… 🤷‍♂️

Go figure… 🤔

…actual… don’t waste your time… there’s no point trying to figure out what the powers that be are up to… life is way too short for that…

Instead, just grab a cuppa… or a beer… or whatever you fancy… and have a gander at the latest copy of my NTF … Weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes…

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Weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes 12^th – 14^th July

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📅 Friday 12^th July

⭕ 205 York – 7f Class 3 Handicap

🏇 17^th – BILLYB

Drawn 15^th of 18 and he could never get into this from his wide racing position and on ground (Good to Soft) that won’t have been ideal for him… he’s been in decent form recently and he’s still a couple pounds below his highest winning mark (ran here off OR 83, high win mark is OR 85) and he’s worth looking out for under his Prime Conditions… OR 85 or less | Handicaps on Good or quicker (or A/W) | Flat or Slightly Undulating tracks | DSLR 42 or less = 179122121 (4/9, 2p – all 4 career wins)…

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⭕ 350 York – 1m2.5f Class 4 Handicap

🏇 12^th – FOOLS RUSH IN

No doubt Ruth Carr has a well-handicapped horse on her hands here (picked up from Jim Goldie in the off season) but 1m2f trips probably are not in range for the 6yo (now 0/8, 0p over 1m+ trips)… he ran here off OR 70, which is 25lb below his last and highest winning mark, and he’s worth looking out for under the following… (Turf) OR 95 or less | Flat tracks | <1m | Race worth <16k | June-Aug = 6/11, 1p – all 6 turf wins… maybe not one to hang on to for too long but he should reward at decent odds if current connections can get him firing again…

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⭕ 215 Ascot – 1m Class 4 Apprentice Handicap

🏇 6^th – GREY FOX

The ground had softened down below his prime underfoot conditions for this race (he’s 0/10, 1p on G/S or softer) but he ran a solid race all the same, beaten only 1.7L in 6^th…  he ran here off OR 72, 3lbs below his highest win mark and 7lbs blow his peak rating, and he’s on mark he should be competitive off when he meets with his Prime Conditions… which I have as… OR 75 or less | Handicaps in May-Aug | Good or quicker ground | Flat or Slightly Undulating tracks (NOT a RH track) = 0141121181 (6/10, 1p – all 6 career wins)…

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⭕ 510 Ascot – 6f Class 3 Handicap

🏇 4^th – EXECUTIVE DECISION

Just got caught a bit too much out in the middle of the track from her stall 4 draw here and that was probably enough to make life tricky for the filly… the ground drying out to Good wasn’t ideal either (she is 0/7, 0p on Good or quicker ground)… she’s on a winnable mark at present, she ran here off OR 89, and is worth looking out for a similar race under her PC… OR 90 or less | 5.5f+ | G/S or softer | Straight track = 1121 (3/4, 1p – all 3 career wins)…

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⭕ 300 Newmarket – 1m6f Class 2 Handicap

🏇 8^th – SOLENT GATEWAY

There are two things this 6yo needs to be able to run to his best; a small field and a left-handed bend to run round… and he had neither of them here. He went well enough for long enough in this but ultimately conditions were not in his favour, so it’s easy to explain away the 11L 8^th of 12 end result… he’s on a winnable mark at present… ran here off OR 90, 3lbs below his last and highest win mark… and he’s worth looking out for when he meets with the following PC… OR 93 or less | Hcps on LH tracks | fields of 9 or less | Jan-Aug = 111221 (4/6, 2p – all 4 career wins)…

🏇 11^th – VINO VICTRIX

Class 2 races are generally beyond this 6yo… now 0/12, 2p at Class 2 level… but he ran here off his last and highest win mark of OR 88, so he is handicapped to be competitive right now when running in the right grade… he ran well at Goodwood on his previous start and he’s worth keeping on the radar for when he meets with his Prime Conditions… OR 88 or less | C3 or less | June-Oct | DSLR 16-56 = 21224112 (3/8, 4p – all 3 career wins)… worth noting that all of his wins have come on Right-Handed tracks, although I wouldn’t say he needs a RH to run to his best, as he has placed form on LH tracks, but he may be at his absolute best going right-handed…

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⭕ 445 Newmarket – 7f Class 3 Handicap

🏇 12^th – GISBURN

Another on the day was probably done by changing ground… the ground drying out to Good being enough to see him unable to take advantage of his current, and winnable, handicap mark… he ran here off OR 86, the same as his last winning mark and 4lbs below his highest win mark, and he’s worth keeping on the radar for when meeting with the following… OR 90 or less | G/S or softer | May-Oct = 3111 (3/4, 1p – all 3 career wins)…

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⭕ 520 Newmarket – 5f Class 3 Handicap

🏇 3^rd – FANTASY MASTER

A solid effort here from the 6yo, who only found two unexposed 3yo’s too good for him… he was 1L ahead of the 4^th and then it was 4L+ back to the rest of the field… so plenty to like about this effort and he’s worth keeping on the radar right now as he’s 2lbs below his last winning mark and 3lbs below his highest winning mark, and he does tend to peak in July and later (all 4 career wins have come in July to October)… I have his PC as… OR 76 or less | straight track | DSLR 12-56 = 33612111 (4/8, 3p – all 4 career wins)…

🏇 4^th – SPRING BLOOM

A decent run from the 7yo, who is on a winnable mark at present, ran here off OR 75, 9lbs below his last and highest win mark, and he’s also currently in his prime months… he’s worth looking out for under the following PC… OR 84 or less | 5f | race worth <9k | May-Aug = 11123122 (4/8, 4p – all 4 career wins)… can possibly be a little flexible on trip and race value…

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⭕ 825 Chester – 7.5f Class 4 Handicap

🏇 2^nd – EVOCATIVE SPARK

Bumped into an unexposed 3yo who got to control the race off the front, in the shape of the Andrew Balding trained TRANSITIONING. Andrew Balding had his yard in bouncing form at the weekend so no shame in Evocative Spark going down by only 1.25L at the line and this ranks as a solid effort from the 5yo… he extremely well-handicapped on his best form right now and he’s worth looking out for under the following… OR 90 or less | 6f-1m (round a bend) | Flat tracks | NOT Heavy = 2232311121 (4/10, 6p – all 4 career wins)… he’s in good form at present…

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📅 Saturday 13^th July

⭕ 145 Ascot – 5f Class 2 Handicap

🏇 2^nd – ALBASHEER

A big effort from the 6yo as the winner was drawn high and was able to run on the quicker side of the track, whilst ALBASHEER was drawn low (stall 5) and had to thread his way through plenty traffic… he’s a horse that handles these big fields well… form of 205481870 (1/9, 3p) in fields of 17+… and he’s worth looking out for under his PC… OR 105 or less | C2 or less | Straight track | Good+ (AW) | Jan-Aug = 2011101 (4/7, 1p – all 4 career wins)…

🏇 8^th – VINTAGE CLARETS

Another that ran well from the less favourable low numbers (stall 3) and he did well to only go down by 1.9L at the line… he’s on a mark (OR 94) he should be competitive off and is worth looking out for under the following PC… OR 94 or less | 5f | NOT Seasonal debut = 7/14, 2p – all 7 career wins…

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⭕ 550 Hamilton – 5f Class 6 Handicap

🏇 4^th – IMPRESSOR

The 7yo has slipped back to a mark where he should prove competitive off in the coming weeks and he’s worth keeping on the radar if there remains juice underfoot… with his Prime Conditions being… OR 71 or less | C4 or less | Apr-Aug | G/S or softer | fields of <14 | DSLR 25 or less = 4251311231211 (6/13, 5p – all 6 career wins)…

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⭕ 730 Hamilton – 1m5f Class 4 Handicap

🏇 4^th – HAVEYOUMISSEDME

Tends to not start peaking until September and October (all 4 career wins) but I’d be happy to stretch that to August – October as he looks one that needs cut underfoot, conditions he may well get, given the way the weather is this summer… he posted a decent effort here as the race played to the hands of those up with or bang on the pace (and he was held-up) and he’d be of interest when meeting with the following… C3 Hcps or less | OR 85 or less | Aug-Oct | G/S or softer (or AW) = 122111 (4/6, 2p – all 4 career wins)…

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Shorthand explanations…

PC = Prime Conditions

DSLR = Days Since Last Run

OR = Official Rating

Hcps – Handicaps

LTO – Last Time Out

CP’s – Cheek-Pieces

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That’s all for me today…

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I’ll be back on here next week, with the next installment of my weekly Handicap Sleeper Notes…

Cheers – Ben (NTF)

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