Hanoverian Baron

Hanoverian Baron was the outsider of the entire field in the Old Newton Cup at Haydock on Saturday, but he out-performed his odds by a fair way to finish seventh, beaten a total of just over four lengths. Although he is eight now, two of his last three runs have been very good. He is in the form of his life.

The bare result doesn’t tell the true story of the race, because Tony Newcombe’s horse had to endure a terrible run up the home straight. He had a good position on the inside and just behind the leading five or six, he travelled really well into the home straight, but first Quixote and then Scatter Dice fell back into his lap. From a position at which he was travelling well in sixth place just behind the leaders a half a mile out, he got shuffled back to about 12th place and with a wall of horses in front of him just over a furlong out. He finished really well when Connor Beasley managed to extricate him, and he was unfortunate not to have finished an awful lot closer.

The son of Green Desert seems to have rediscovered his old form this year. As well as winning on the all-weather at Wolverhampton in March, he was a good second, beaten just a head with the pair clear, to the very progressive Sir John Hawkwood at York’s Dante meeting. He obviously remains under the radar judged on his SP here, and he should remain so even after this run, which seems to have been missed by most, including by the handicapper, who has left him on his mark of 93. He handles fast ground and soft ground, and he will be of interest wherever he runs next. Hopefully he will remain under the radar and will be put in at a decent price. A mile and a half is probably his best trip these days, but he would still be of interest if he took his chance in the Ebor, back at York, where he ran so well in May this year and where he won a handicap in 2010.

6th July 2013