John Ingles of Timeform provides an overview of the key things to note for Wednesday’s racing.
Three points of interest
Summerghand takes a rare drop in grade
With 17 wins to his name and earnings topping £600,000, veteran Summerghand has enjoyed a tremendous career since making his debut for David O’Meara as a three-year-old at Doncaster in May 2017. With a smart Timeform rating of 116 at his best, he has two listed races to his name as well as a Group 3 success in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket in 2021 but he’s probably best known for his exploits in top handicaps, including winning the Stewards’ Cup in 2020 and the Ayr Gold Cup in 2022, invariably coming from well off the pace.
Most of his wins have come under Danny Tudhope who also partnered him on that debut seven years ago and is in the saddle again today on what will be the gelding’s 98th racecourse appearance. Their most recent victory came when dead-heating in the Constantine Handicap at last year’s Ebor meeting at York, a race Summerghand had also won in 2022.
That win last August was gained from a BHA mark of 102 but Summerghand has now slipped to 91, his lowest mark since 2018. That allows him to drop into a class 3 mid-week handicap at Thirsk which is a far cry from the company he usually keeps – he was last seen finishing in mid-division in the Buckingham Palace Handicap at Royal Ascot, for example, where he was first home in the unfavoured group which raced centre-to-far side. An eye-catching run at Newmarket in the spring showed Summerghand is no back number despite his advancing years and he tops the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings here by 1 lb.
Brendan’s time to Shine again?
Jim Goldie’s string ended June in top form which included notching a treble at the most recent Scottish meeting at Hamilton last week. His gelding Shine On Brendan is no stranger to success at Hamilton himself but he takes the eye because he’s bidding to win today’s nine-furlong handicap at Musselburgh for the third year running.
Also successful at Hamilton later last summer, Shine On Brendan is now on an attractive mark, being a pound lower than when winning this race last year. After a slow start to the current campaign, Shine On Brendan took a firm step back in the right direction on his latest outing at Hamilton when a keeping-on third behind Hey Lyla, beaten only half a length and a neck despite being carried left in the closing stages.
That was a better-grade handicap too, so he looks of plenty of interest in his hat-trick bid.
Time and place is right for Mr Wagyu to end losing run
John & Sean Quinn’s useful sprinter Mr Wagyu hasn’t won for a while but has good prospects of putting that right in the six-furlong handicap at Epsom.
The Quinn stable has a very good record at the track with the runners it has sent down from Malton to Surrey over the last five seasons, with 6 winners from 23 runners equating to a strike rate of 26%. They had four runners at Epsom on Derby Day, and while one of those was a 50/1-shot, the other three, all ridden by Jason Hart, were all in the money. The filly Breege provided the highlight, winning the Princess Elizabeth Stakes, while Due For Luck took third in the 3yo Dash despite not getting the best of runs.
Mr Wagyu went closer still to making it a double on the day for the yard, though, going down by a short head in the Tokyo Trophy after leading entering the final furlong and being edged out in the final strides. He has a particularly good record in that contest, having won it in 2022 and finished third in 2023.
Mr Wagyu wasn’t disgraced when third at Ripon on his latest start and with this evening’s contest looking less competitive than the one he contested here last month, he can add to his remarkable record of coming good in the summer months – all 15 of his career wins have come in either June or July.
Tip of the Day
Georgie Wooster – 15:45 Thirsk
Flags: Horses In Focus, Top Rated
The first division of Thirsk’s seven-furlong handicap could well be fought out by a couple of three-year-olds who were successful last time out. Savvy Warrior got off the mark in cosy fashion at Wetherby last time and is still unexposed but preference is for Tim Easterby’s gelding Georgie Wooster who was successful on his handicap debut at Redcar in May. He had only made his debut the previous month, but after showing just modest form at long odds in his first three starts he was a different proposition at Redcar. Georgie Wooster still looked as though he had a bit to learn but flew home once he got going, beating stablemate Kode Secret by a length and a quarter, and looking sure to win more races. The runner-up has won since, and so has the third, so the form is working out well and he looks capable of following up.
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