6th-Sept-2014

Battersea is not wholly original, he is co-favourite in a field of 18, but he is 8/1 co-favourite, and he should be shorter than that in my book.

Roger Varian’s horse is just a really progressive horse who has taken steps forward with each of his three runs to date this term. He shaped nicely on his first run of the season in a maiden at Nottingham over an inadequate trip, when he was not suited by the way the race was run, and he followed that with a really good run on his handicap debut at Newmarket upped in trip.

He just seemed to lack a bit of experience against Maid In Rio, who was in the middle of her rapid progression, getting caught out when that filly kicked on, but he pressed her all the way to the line with the pair of them drawing right away.

He probably came on a lot for that experience when winning a hot three-year-old handicap over today’s course and distance on his sole subsequent run. He was always travelling nicely and he was really strong through the final furlong. He should be even better in this bigger field and better class of race, with the likelihood of an end-to-end gallop. Given how much in hand he had at the end of that race, and his pedigree and scope for further improvement (he is a half-brother to, among others, Gitano Hernando), a 6lb rise looks more than fair. A mark of 90 could still be some way off his peak rating.

BATTERSEA WON (ADV 8/1)