Arklow Lad
Arklow Lad
6th-Jun-2026
I am a little concerned about the form of the Mick Appleby horses but, that aside, Arklow Lad has a lot in his favour in the Dash.
I thought that he did well to win at Pontefract in April, he did well to get across from stall 10 and track the pace that Spartan Arrow set from stall one. And he had enough in hand to get home up Pontefract’s stiff finish from Seven Questions and Havana Rum, who both came from well back. Spartan Arrow faded to finish last of the 13 runners.
He could only finish fifth in the Class 2 handicap that Jakajaro won at York’s Dante meeting last time, but he showed a lot of pace early out in the centre, before making his way over to the far side and finishing on the far rail, as the winner came down the near side. He only weakened deep inside the final furlong.
He should appreciate the move to this faster five furlongs, he has lots of speed. He has a nice draw in stall 20. The softer the ground gets, the more important a high draw will be in the Dash. He won over five furlongs on soft ground at Bellewstown for Kieran Cotter last year, and that is a positive in terms of both track and ground.
Stormy Impact and Dream Composer were the other two horses on my shortlist, but I am happy to rely on Arklow Lad.
ARKLOW LAD WON (ADV 9/1, SP 7/1)
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