EACH-WAY thieves seeking a slice of the action in this afternoon's £130,000 Cambridgeshire could do worse than concentrate on Spanish Don (3.55).
The only people cheering 12 months ago were the bookies as Spanish Don snatched the spoils at odds of 100-1 in front of a near-silent crowd.
David Elsworth's seven-year-old isn't going to be sent off at anything like such a juicy starting price this afternoon.
However, it shouldn't deter potential backers seeing as previous winners have a decent enough record in the unique nine-furlong test.
Spanish Don has had a quiet season so far but the canny Elsworth must never be underestimated and in my book he's been preparing his horse especially for another crack at this very race.
It's also worth remembering the stable's horses are going great guns, which together with the fact Spanish Don performed perfectly adequately in his prep, when fourth on unsuitably firm ground at Newbury, tells us he'll probably be involved once again.
The absence of recently-retired Attraction due to injury in the Group 1 Sun Chariot Stakes is a not-so-subtle reminder of the constant wear-and-tear inflicted on thoroughbreds' fragile limbs.
With both Mark Johnston's star and her major foe over the past two years, Soviet Song, out of the reckoning, the way has been paved for Chic (3.15) to take the £200,000 Group 1 renewal.
The critics rightly slammed Christophe Soumillon for choosing the country route prior to launching his challenge when narrowly eclipsed by Attraction in Ireland last time out.
The reliable Ryan Moore won't be repeating similarly tactics aboard Sir Michael Stoute's mare this afternoon and it'll take something pretty special to lower her colours in the one-mile corker.
I've always been a big fan of both Bob Dylan and Kindling, so to quote the great wordsmith "what's the sense of changing horses mid-stream?"
Kindling (2.30) won with tremendous authority at Haydock last Friday and a repeat performance seems very much on the cards in the appropriately named Apprentice Derby Handicap at Epsom.
Tomorrow's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is indisputably the best mile-and-a-half event run in Europe.
The top five in the betting, headed by Kieren Fallon's 5-2 shot Hurricane Run, are all Group 1 winners in their own right.
Lurking just behind on the 9-2 mark is Epsom Derby hero Motivator, who returns to his ideal trip after twice having unwisely been asked by connections to perform over an inadequate ten furlongs.
Thankfully now everything has come right for Michael Bell's three-year-old colt, reportedly raring to go out in a blaze of glory prior to retiring to stud immediately following the race.
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