GIVEN how good we know SLANELOUGH (1.45) can be, it’s amazing he’s still waiting for his first chase win after eleven races. He’s had his fair share of bad luck along the way and a few near misses, but hopefully today can be the day he finally does the business. There are definitely a couple of dangerous threats at Hexham this afternoon, but if he turns up on his game he should be in the mix.
CLASSICAL SOUND (2.55) is our other runner there today and we’re also hoping he’ll produce a decent effort. He’s not run for over 300 days, but he’s ready to race and if he turns up in his best form this is winnable for him.
Tomorrow we’ll head to Kelso with what we hope are four live chances.
COOLE HALL (1.07) could do with a bit of rain but is certainly capable of winning one like this. He’s run plenty of solid races and certainly has talent, but it’s about getting him to put it all in. Fingers crossed he’s in the right mood this weekend!
BAKO DE LA SAULAIE (2.17) is another who could do with it being a touch softer underfoot but the weather forecast doesn’t look too hopeful of that happening. He’s had a wind op since his last run here last month so we’d like to think that could help eke a bit of improvement out of him - and the same with the cheekpieces to help him concentrate. Having had a run already, he’s good to go.
HITMAN FRED (2.52) is a horse we’ve always really liked at home. He’s had a wind op since his last run too. We were pleased with him that day and if clearing his breathing a bit does the trick then I think he can be very competitive.
In the bumper we run a lovely newcomer FETE CHAMPETRE (3.57). He’s done everything we wanted at home and while you don’t know until you take them to the track, he’s looked the part so far.