DAVID BARRON'S Dispol Isle (2.40) deserves to get her head in front at Catterick today following a series of near misses.
The two-year-old filly has yet to finish out of the first four on all five of her career outings to date, but even though she came tantalisingly close at Ayr 18 days ago, Dispol Isle has failed to gain that all-important inaugural success.
Since the days of that grand grey sprinter, God's Solution, Barron's horses have generally thrived at Catterick, an omen not likely to be missed by his followers at the course, many of whom will doubtless side with the selection.
A bit of local knowledge is always a help in such situations, and in an open-looking contest for the seven-furlong toteexacta Fillies Nursery, I fully expect Dispol Isle to go off at odds of 7-1 or better, well worth an each-way wager.
Despite the fact 20 face the starter for the two-mile Skyram Handicap, a weak field means the race doesn't have a particularly competitive feel.
Confirmed front-runner Jamaican Flight will ensure a fast early pace, however I doubt whether the 11-year-old veteran will be able to cope with a potential late thrust from his far younger in-form rival, Astromancer (3.40).
The Mark Tompkins-trained gelding has been earning his corn with a series of consistent efforts including victory at Redcar in June, together with an even better run when travelling to Warwick to finish third in superior company.
Former leading Hong Kong apprentice, Stanley Chin, is gradually making a name for himself in this country by virtue of his acute tactical awareness.
I reckon Chin's booking for Cottingham (4.10) in the Nottingham Handicap is a shrewd move by Market Rasen-based Michael Chapman, who has taken the decision to step his gelding up to a mile-and-a-half.
Cottingham will need to be ridden with some degree of guile if he is to see out the new, longer distance, and Stanley is just the type of thinking jockey required to keep his mount primed for action once the pair enter unknown territory inside the final few furlongs.
Over the jumps at Huntingdon, David Gandolfo sends Rooster's Reunion (3.50) up from the west-country for the feature event, the £12,000 RHT Handicap Hurdler.
A frail anatomy restricted Rooster's Reunion to only sorties last term, but that didn't stop him creating a favourable impression when slamming a set of decent opponents over track and trip in March.
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