3 minute read
Sam King and Thomas Hodgson team up to bring two selections on Friday…
Once again, there will be no National Hunt racing across Britain and Ireland today, but there are two all-weather meetings to get stuck into and Meydan offers a particularly interesting card in Dubai as their Carnival ramps up the speed.
It's across the globe to Meydan we head for our first selection, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't really looking forward to watching Arabian Light strut his stuff in the Lord North Handicap Sponsored By DP World (3.50) this afternoon.
Meydan has been a happy hunting ground for Charlie Appleby and the Godolphin team for many many years now and the Newmarket-based handler certainly knows what type of horse it takes to compete there. I'd imagine Charlie had his eye on a Dubai campaign for this horse ever since he readily landed a Newmarket novice event on the July course second time out and I remember William Buick, who rides him over stablemate First Conquest, being particularly upbeat in the aftermath of that contest.
An opening mark of 100 will prove no gimme in this competitive event on his handicap debut, but he spaced an 82-rated rival by six lengths under a penalty at Kempton and is surely destined for group races in the not-so-distant future. The form of his runner-up effort on debut particularly catches the eye, with the now unbeaten 112-rated Ombudsman, arguably one of the most exciting flat horses about, the only horse to peg him back late on after being in front at the furlong pole. The third and fourth-placed horses are rated 96 and 92 respectively, giving the form a rock-solid look.
Stepping up a furlong will pose no problems whatsoever for this well-bred Kingman gelding and from a kind draw in stall eight, I expect him to take the world of beating en-route to bigger and better things.
Sam King
WIN – Arabian Light
Odds – 13/8
Gustav Graves ran up a sequence of victories this time last season and is taken to build on his last-time-out victory in the 5f Weekly 5 Free Bet With BetUK Handicap (17:15) at Newcastle on Friday.
While Derek Shaw's charge will have to contend with a 6lb penalty for his Wolverhampton triumph, the times on the clock make that win appear rather facile. Having recorded speed figures as high as 91 in the past, his most recent victory only warranted a rating of 76 (ATR). With this in mind, one might contend that the gelding has the capacity to go a good deal quicker when needed.
The seven-year-old holds solid course form around Gosforth Park, having won over track and trip back in March 2024. Joanna Mason's booking is also noteworthy – backing all her mounts on the Newcastle tapeta would return a positive P/L of £20.41 to a £1 stake. She also knows how to get the best out of the gelding, having been onboard for all eight of his career wins.
Currently priced up around the 3/1 mark, I would fancy Gustav Graves to go off even shorter.
Thomas Hodgson
WIN – Gustav Graves
Odds – 3/1