Sam King found a 9/4 (SP – reformed market) at Newbury yesterday evening and is back with two selections for you on Friday…
Awaal – Ascot 4.45
A deluge of rain in the early hours of the morning has turned the ground soft at Ascot and that will be music to the ears of connections of Awaal, who comes alive with significant ease in the ground.
The Simon and Ed Crisford-trained five-year-old has understandably been campaigned sparing this season, running just once since October last year. He shaped with a great deal of promise as well when seventh in the competitive Bunbury Cup on ground too quick at Newmarket in July and it's easy to see why he's priced up at the head of the market today now back under his favoured conditions.
He hasn't won for nearly over two years but that certainly wouldn't put me off. The gelded son of Lope De Vega finished third in both the Royal Hunt Cup and Bunbury Cup off 5lb higher last year, so with a current mark of 100 to go to war with, there's definitely no concern on that front.
His main market rival Bennetot has been running well on quicker ground, while there also have to be ground concerns over Richard Hannon's Classic, who has beaten just one horse home on his last two outings on ground officially described as soft.
There's no doubt the market has it right with Awaal now a general 13/8 chance, but I fully expect him to oblige under William Buick and stamp his class on this field.
Odds – 13/8
The Coffee Pod – Haydock 2.00
We head to Haydock for our second selection. With Richard Hannon seemingly hitting some decent form, it could pay to take a chance on The Coffee Pod, who has been running better than recent figures suggest and now returns to a surface with some cut in the ground.
He finished tenth of fourteen in a competitive Racing League handicap at Newcastle last month but shaped better than the bare result given he took a keen hold throughout and was only beaten three- and three-quarter lengths crossing the line.
The handicapper dropped him a further pound for that effort, leaving him just 3lb above his last winning mark. That success came over the minimum trip on 'good-to-soft' ground at York in July and it looks as though he'll encounter similar conditions for the first time since this afternoon. Tom Marquand also returns to the saddle for the first time since steering him to victory on the Knavesmire and it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him bounce back with a big effort at decent odds.
Odds – 8/1
