Captain Quint
TWO runners on Friday spread over three hundred miles apart as we send CAPTAIN QUINT (4.43) down to Newbury and WILD POLLY (3.55) a shorter trip down the road to Hexham.
Captain Quint surprised us how well he ran on his first time at Musselburgh back in February so it was fantastic when he followed up by going one better there later in the month and getting his head in front. The horse who beat us the first day went on to win the Eider and the second was behind us again the next time - so that form looks solid enough!
He’s not got too many options up here in the north right now so we’ve decided to hit the road with him. Races down south are often run a stride quicker so he’ll have to step up again on previous form and there are a few fellow recent winners in the field so it’s got the look of a competitive race on paper.
The good to soft ground and 2m6f trip will be perfect for him, and his past record of running well at Ayr suggests he’ll be fine around this course as Newbury is pretty similar. Craig Nichol rides and the cheekpieces which helped him at Musselburgh stay on.
Wild Polly showed us a bit of promise two runs ago, running far better than her finishing position suggested. She took a step back last time, although I do wonder if we’d turned her out too quickly. She’s been an unlucky horse with injuries and other bits and bobs over the years so deserves a change of fortune.
Hexham will be a new experience for her, it’s a track which has a bit of everything, so if she takes to it and runs like she did at Ayr in February then we’d be encouraged.