Final Venture
Final Venture did really well to finish as close as he did in the Beverley Bullet last Saturday. Usually a front-runner or prominent racer, Alan Swinbank's horse stumbled on leaving the stalls and went a little to his left, which only served to accentuate the disadvantage of his poor draw in stall nine of 10. He showed a lot of speed, however, to get to the front up on the outside after they had gone a furlong. Always wider than ideal, he travelled well in front to the 2f pole and, even after he came under pressure from that point, he kept on admirably well to be involved in the blanket finish for first place. He was placed fourth in the end, but he was only beaten a total of a neck by the winner Alpha Delphini.
Winner of three handicaps this season, and raised 31lb as a result, he continues to progress, and this was probably a career-best performance in the circumstances. A 4lb hike is fair, he is progressive enough to take that hike in his stride. He was only beaten a short head by Alpha Delphini at Ascot on his last run before Saturday, and he made light of the 7lb hike that he got for that. He can be marked up a fair bit on the bare form of Saturday's run, and he will do even better back on even faster ground. A stiff 5f is probably ideal for him, but he does get 6f.
27th August 2016
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