Mitchum Swagger
There was a lot to like about the performance that Mitchum Swagger put up in landing the one-mile handicap at Haydock on Friday on just his second run ever.
Strong in the market beforehand, the Paco Boy gelding was given a lovely confident ride by George Baker. Settled at the rear of the field through the early stages of the race, he was a little keen, but he travelled well into the home straight. He had to wait for a gap, he had his intended run blocked at the two-furlong pole, but once the gap appeared again, he picked up impressively. He did lean to his left as he moved forward and hit the front, but that was probably down to inexperience more than anything else, and he still went forward and won by a length and a half.
There was no obvious advantage to be had from racing in rear here. Indeed, it may well have been a disadvantage. The early leader Ghinia finishing second and third-placed Ribblehead raced prominently from early, while the fourth and fifth horses were never any worse than mid-division. Mitchum Swagger looked very good in moving through as easily as he did, and he probably had far more in hand than the one-and-a-half-length winning margin.
There is no telling how good David Lanigan's horse could be now. This was his second run and his second win, and he could be on a serious upward curve. The handicapper raised him 6lb for this, which looks lenient. In truth, he could have raised him by 10lb, and there should be another handicap in Mitchum Swagger now off a mark of 93. It would be surprising if he was not a 100+ horse. He won his maiden on good ground, but he has an easy-ground action and he handled this soft ground well. He will be of interest wherever he goes next, and he would be of interest stepped up in class now on soft ground before the end of the season.
25th September 2015
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