Up a bit, down a bit - 26th May

The begining of last week was quite poor and the first action of any note worth commenting on is the Service Desk Institute Handicap - Class 4 - 3yo - 6f Standard - Kempton 18th May
The winner here Instance was quite impressive coming with a strong inside the final furlong and win readily from Dozy Joe, she has been raised 7lb as a result to a mark of 83. She looks to be a progressive type and her trainer Jeremy Noseda had the following to say about her "She picked up well and made a hash of the start which didn`t help. She`s two from two and while I wouldn`t get carried away with this, it was a nice performance". It will be interesting to see how she gets on at Newmarket on turf this coming Friday.

Derek Jones 60th Birthday Handicap - Class 4 - 3yo+ - 5f - Catterick - Good To Firm - 20th May
Cattericks five furlong course is quite fast and it can pay to get a good start as was the case in this for Bronze Beau who was never in any danger throughout. The second Taurus Twins had broke the course record at Windsor but he was unable to make any impression on the winner and finished 2 3/4 lengths behind. Given that Bronze Beau had the run of the race an 8lb rise seems rather harsh and lets hope the handicapper has a rethink about this. His trainer commented "It took him a couple of runs to come right and he is better in small fields when he can dominate. James gets on very well with him".

Norfolk Nelson Museum Median Auction Maiden Stakes  - Class 6 - 3-5yo - 6f3y - 6f  - Yarmouth - Good To Firm
James Fanshawe does well with sprinters and he may have unearthed another one here in the shape of Mosaicist who is a half sister to triple Group 3 winner Snaefell. She won this by a short head from the Godolphin owned Outsmart and both look capable of smart form in due course as the time of the race was below standard. The stable had this to say about her on their website "She is a lovely filly, she is only a pony, has a huge heart, she has been going very nicely at home and is wonderfully tough. My worry was that she would remember her only other race which was at Yarmouth last year.  She ran very well to finish thrid but came back with a broken pelvis. It was plenty firm enough for her today but the main thing is she won and Kieran gave her a very good ride".

Crabbie's "Tickety Boo" Alcoholic Ginger Beer Handicap - Class 2 - 4yo+ - 7f2y - Chester -Good

Although this was over 7f it featured a few who usually ply their trade over shorter and one of those was the winner Our Jonathan who took this by a neck from Mon Cadeaux. He was ridden by Franny Norton who rides the track very well and although he has gone up 4lb to 99 he has probably capable of further improvement if kept to this trip. In behind Damika finished 6th and has been dropped 2lb to 92 which is 2lb less than when he won the 6f Class 2 Great St Wilfrid at Ripon last summer, so his time may be near.

Hampshire Society Stakes - Class 2 - 6f - Goodwood - Good To Firm
Walter Swinburn has had a good run of winners lately and this was kept up by Crown Choice who came with a strong late surge to win in comfortable fashion by 3/4 length from Love Delta. The winner has been raised 4lb to 98 and he holds an entry in the Wokingham for which he is priced at 25/1 and he beat a handicap regular here in Parisian Pyramid to suggest he will not be out of place in the top handicaps. His 4 previous wins had been over 7f so we could well see him lining up in the Ayr Gold Cup later in the year.

Betfred Text "Fred" To 89660 Handicap - Class 4 - 6f - Haydock - Good To Firm
Dickie Le Davoir continued the good run of the Richard Guest stable which has a 19% strike rate over 5f and 6f in 2011. He won this by a neck from Karaka Jack who unfortunatley has been raised 2lb to 77. The winner though was winning his 5th race of the season and in doing so has gone up 26lbs in the handicap, however he has been as high as 93 in the past so maybe this trainer just knows how to get the best out of his horses. Sutton Veny is now on a mark of 84 which is 4lb below his all weather mark and he ran a good race in 3rd on his first run since December whilst Rocket Bob who is more at home over 5f is on 82 which is 3lb lower than when he was 3rd in the Epsom Dash last season. Haajes is another who is dropping down as the runs go by and he is on a mark of 81 now after a 2lb drop for this which is 2lb lower than when he won a Class 4 handicap at York over 5f on Soft in October, no doubt we will see improvement after the summer is over. Tabaret too was dropped 3lb which leaves him on 78 which is 12lb lower than at the begining of last season, his last win coming off 85 when beating Doctor Parkes by half a length.

Sportingbet.com Sprint - Class 2 - 5f - York - Good
This was probably the best sprint handicap last weekend and it went the way of Masamah by half a length from Doctor Parkes(sounds familiar) with Celerina 3rd. The winner had run well at Chester but had it all to do from a bad draw so this wasnt a suprise that he beat his conqueror there. He has gone up 6lb to 106 and the horse that finished 2nd at Chester Captain Dunne has also been raised 3lb to 108 after the form being franked here and after his good run at Longchamp when he finished in front of Prohibit who ran so well in the Temple Stakes earlier in the afternoon. Mon Brav ran well to finish a 4 1/2 length 9th as his rider reported that his saddle had slipped and he should be capable of winning again. Johannes has been dropped 2lb to 94, he was only beaten 3 lengths by Hoof It and Noble Storm off 97 in October at Doncaster over 5f. Kaldoun Kingdom has been given a chance to come good as he has gone down 3lb's to 98 and he may be heading for another go at the Sky Bet Dash at York over 6f in which he was 2nd last season off 101. Confessional was dissapointing particularly as he had finished 4th in the Chester race won by Doctor Parkes and I'm sure he is capable of better. Hotham won twice at York in June and July last year off marks of 87 and 91, so the fact that he has been dropped another 3lb to 81 could rekindle the fire within and he is entered at Ripon next wednesday.