19:15 Epsom
There is a nice looking card for the evening racing at Epsom today with this six furlong Class 3 handicap looking the pick of the races.
Shanghai Glory for Charlie Hills has been very consistent so far this season with two second placed finishes and a win at Lingfield on the turf. He is clearly in good form and will like the ground, however he is now 19 17 pounds higher than his first race this year and this is a step up in class, therefore I think he will find at least on of these too good for him.
Gentlemen has won three of his last four races and five times this calendar year. He comes here tonight looking to make a hat trick from his current run and is obviously in great spirit. all of those wins were on the polytrack and when he last won on the turf, the going was good to firm. He also has the added quirk of being temperamental, as he was loaded into the stalls and flat out refused to race at Chelmsford three races ago. Gentleman is another who has rocketed up the weights off the back of his continued success and his jockey Josephine Gordon now has just a three pound claim compared to seven at the start of the year. Put together this is enough to put doubts into my mind and others are preferred.
Luis Vaz de Torres was a winner last time out at Catterick and he makes the step up in class today. That win was on good to firm and his few previous runs on softer going do not inspire confidence that he is at his best with some cut in the ground.
Escalating, trained by Michael Appleby, trounced the field in a Class 4 handicap and carries an extra six pounds today because of that. The manner of that victory at Nottingham on soft going gave the impression that there is plenty more to come from this four year old and I expect him to be very hard to beat here today. The conditions will be just right for him and since being stepped up to six furlongs over the past two races, he has looked a much better horse.
Today's Selections
Epsom 19:15 - Escalating - 2 points @ 9/4 (Bet365)