With our two stable stars now having a winter break, we are relying on some of our ‘lesser lights’ to keep us entertained and this evening, it’s Gerrots’ turn.
If you happened to read last month’s newsletter, you’ll know all about Gerry already. He’s our loveable problem child. While he loves racing and loves training, like many at his level, he simply lacks consistency. We got a solid run out of him on debut for the Faulkner’s, but he then took a backward step the last day when beaten out of sight in similar company. Now, all owners like to make excuses for their horses but to be fair to Gerry, he was given no chance at all in that contest as he helped to force a gung-ho gallop through the early stages and inevitably paid the price in the finish. As a team we were therefore happy to write that run off completely and in an ideal world, we would have got him back to the track quickly but when you’re rated 45, finding races isn’t easy and we’ve spent the last 5 weeks getting balloted out. It’s may have been a blessing in disguise though, as we’ve managed to land in what appears to be a suitable race this evening.
8:00 Wolverhampton - 2m½f (2m120y) Find More Big Deals At BetUK Handicap (Div II) (Class 6) (3yo+ 0-55)
We have a field of 10 due to go to post here and between them, they’ve recorded 16 wins from 216 runs, which isn’t too bad for the grade. However, only 10 of those wins have come on the level and only 5 of them in the last 5 years. We also have six runners (including Gerry) who are still hunting for their first win on the flat. All in all, this is a low-grade contest, and it probably won’t take much winning.
On paper, the pace is forecast to be slow to even and I hope that proves to be the case, as I certainly wouldn’t want to see Gerry being gunned around four wide at 6-furlong speed through the early stages like he was the last day. The fact is that he only has one speed (plod), the problem is that in his head he thinks he’s a miler, so you have to ride him where you find him and if that happens to be in amongst a heavily contested gallop, he’ll quickly burn himself out. However, if you can settle him happy handy and wind him up slowly, he can go through a couple of gears and be competitive at the business end. Distance is always going to be his friend for that reason, as it tends to zap some of the sting out of his opposition.
Obviously, it is difficult to be confident about any long-standing maiden, especially one who is so reliant on factors beyond his control. But, as I said to the lads in my race review yesterday, it’s the Christmas Season and miracles can apparently happen at this time of year. Whilst it won’t actually take a miracle for Gerry to win this evening, he will need everything to fall right for him, but this is a weak contest, the race pace looks to be in our favour, and I’m sure that Gina will get a good tune out of him. His opening price of 12/1 therefore looked about right to me, and I also thought that the market in general was correct, as I’d certainly see Bear Claws and in particular, Crystal Guard as being the biggest dangers. Ultimately, we will just have to wait and see what happens, but one thing is certain, if Gerry does manage to win tonight, his owners will be celebrating until the New Year!
If you’d like to experience the highs (and lows) of racehorse ownership for yourself then head over to our store and look at some of our available syndicate horses. We have something for everyone and while we can’t guarantee that your horse will win, we can guarantee you’ll have a fantastic time, make new friends, and have the opportunity to head to the races.
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