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Wednesday 6th March

Wed 06 March 2019

Good morning from Newmarket. A busy day lies in store for La Grange Stables, with three runners heading to the evening fixture at Kempton.

Dark Red gets us underway in the mile and a quarter 0-105 handicap, in which he was fourth last year. This time around, following a mixed set of results in Dubai over the winter, he is set to compete from a mark fully seven pounds lower than last season. I hope he hasn’t actually regressed that much and it could be that a winter in Dubai will prove of real benefit to him early in the campaign domestically.

Clearly Mark Johnston’s Matterhorn and Michael Wigham’s Executive Force are formidable opponents in career best form, but hopefully we will get a nice tow into the race and Dark Red can show some of his old spark. Tom Marquand will be in the saddle.

In the mile novice at 6.00, Achaeus makes his third racecourse appearance.  A half-brother to Melbourne Cup winner Almandin, he is clearly a long-term prospect who should only get better with time. However, he got his career underway with respectable efforts at Wolverhampton and Chelmsford in November, and we will hopefully see him show some promise once again this evening. He has done well over the winter and looks on good terms with himself. Josie Gordon takes the ride.

Our final runner this evening is Mr Gent in the 0-65 six-furlong handicap at 8.00. A mercurial horse with more talent than he sometimes displays, he dropped into a very weak five-furlong novice last time out, and ran respectably enough in second - without suggesting that the distance was quite right for him. A step back up to six-furlongs looks the right move, and he is down to a mark from which he ought to be competitive. However, it is always difficult to forecast how he will run, so we can only hope for the best. Paul Mulrennan, who rode him last time out, retains the partnership.

 

All the best,
Ed.
 



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