Rock 'n Red
A miserable morning here in Newmarket and the ground is likely to have eased to the soft side of good on the Rowley Mile. We went over to the racecourse side this morning and used the flat gallop, I was satisifed with how the majority of the horses went.
We have three runners today with Dutch Uncle and Sagaciously contesting the 3:15pm at Lingfield and Rock 'N Red runs tonight in the 8;50pm at Wolverhampton. If Dutch Uncle can build on his Rosebery second he should have a great chance this afternoon whilst Sagaciously has her first run of 2016. She is a nice filly and we hope she can run well but she will improve for today. There is a potential lack of pace in the race which would be a worry as you can get muddling races at Lingfield that turn into sprints off of the home bend.
Rock 'N Red steps up to twelve furlongs for the first time but shaped as though that would suit when an unlucky third nine days ago over ten furlongs. The quick return to action is a slight worry but it would be fantastic if she won a maiden for breeding purposes and the race looks a lot weaker than most maidens. There are one or two others that look like they will improve for the step up in trip so it will be a competitive affair.
It is the Grand National today and with seven milimetres of rain overnight and rain forecast this afternoon it will be more gruelling that recent renewals. It would be fantastic to see Many Clouds win but it will take a huge performance to do so under top weight.