Nameitwhatyoulike

The three-year-old Nameitwhatyoulike ran quite an eye-catching race on his seasonal return in a three-year-old Redcar Straight-Mile Handicap Qualifier at the start of April when, somewhat strangely for a horse who had run 10 times as a two-year-old, he still looked green, though that may have been because he didn’t have any cover on the outside of the group. He ran a good race to be second there, and duly built on that when winning making all to win over a mile at Doncaster at the end of April. That was on soft ground, and he had run well on the only occasion on which he had encountered a soft surface as a two-year-old. Judged on his run at York last week though, he is just a really improving three-year-old as he ran another cracker dropped down to seven furlongs and on a better surface.

Mick Easterby’s gelding quickly got to the front and took them along at a decent pace. He again travelled fluently out in front, as he had done at Doncaster, and had plenty of those in behind in trouble a quarter of a mile from home. The well-backed Baccarat quickened up well on the near side as Van Der Art laid down her challenge on the far side and, while Nameitwhatyoulike was unable to respond, he stuck on well for fourth. The time of the race was good, and the form looks strong with all the right horses coming to the fore.

A mile does look to be his trip now, a step back up to that trip would surely afford him a more easy time of it on the front end. He travelled really strongly at Doncaster on his previous run, and he found plenty for pressure late on when Sovereign Debt came at him. There was a little break back to the third horse that day, an even bigger gap back to the fourth, and the runner-up won in good fashion next time out, on his only subsequent run to date.

Nameitwhatyoulike is on an upward curve, it looks as though there could still be more improvement to come, especially back up at a mile, and when Mick Easterby’s horses are in better form, as they just aren’t flying at the moment.

16th May 2012