Naggers

Naggers ran a fairly eye-catching race in finishing fourth in the six-furlong handicap at Doncaster on Saturday.

Held up at the rear of the field and towards the far side through the early stages of the race by Paul Mulrennan, he travelled well to the two-furlong pole, but was still almost last of the 22 runners. Moved towards the unfavoured stands side on the run to the furlong pole, he made easy and fast progress once he got the gaps, and he picked up impressively through the final furlong, coming from fully four lengths behind the leaders to take fourth place on the line, beaten a total of about three parts of a length.

This was a fine run from Paul Midgley's horse on his seasonal debut, and he can be marked up at least a little on the bare form. He is six years old now, but he is relatively lightly-raced for a sprinter, he raced just once as a juvenile and just once again as a four-year-old. He progressed throughout last season, winning three of his six races, albeit at a low enough level. Saturday's run was his first attempt at a Class 3 contest, and he proved that he belonged at least in that grade.

The handicapper raised him just 1lb for that run to a mark of 85, and that is a mark off which there could be a good sprint handicap in him. Paul Midgley is top notch with sprinters, and he should be able to find a good opportunity for Naggers soon. The Excellent Art gelding appears to be as happy on good ground as he is on soft ground, but he probably wouldn't want it lightning fast.

2^nd April 2017

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