30th-Jul-2016

I am backing Dal Harraild in this.  He is favourite, he is short enough, but I still think that it is worth backing him.

William Haggas’ horse is just a really progressive horse who has the potential to go higher than the mark of 98 off which he races today.  On his penultimate run at Musselburgh, his second of the season, he ran out an impressive winner from St Michel and Regal Monarch.  St Michel won two of his next four races and finished second in the other two, and is now rated 86, 17lb higher than the mark off which he raced at Musselburgh.  Regal Monarch won next time and finished second at Newmarket last weekend, and is now 8lb higher.

Dal Harraild has run once since, in a 12-furlong handicap at Ascot, in which he did well to finish third.  Held up out the back of the nine runners that day behind a sedate pace that Ted Durcan was allowed set on Shabbah, he finished off his race best of all to take third place, beaten a head and the same.

He has that head to make up on Shabbah today, who finished second, but he is 1lb better off and, more importantly, he should get a stronger pace at which to race.  There is plenty of pace in this race, with Shabbah, Soldier In Action, Knights Table and Regal Monarch all happy to go forward.

He is up another 3lb for that run, but that is fine, it was just his seventh run ever and he has lots of scope for progression still.  A mile and a half on fast ground is ideal, and he is nicely drawn in stall two.

DAL HARRAILD WON (SP 5/1)