Heavy Metal favoured for win at Newbury races (From York Press)

Heavy Metal favoured for win at Newbury races

9:43am Saturday 22nd September 2012 in Sport By Tom O'Ryan, Racing journalist

Heavy Metal, beaten a whisker in the Gimcrack Stakes at York’s Ebor Festival last month, heads to Newbury today with excellent prospects of gaining deserved compensation.

Trained at Middleham by Mark Johnston, the speedy juvenile went down by a head to Blaine in the Knavesmire showpiece, having previously won the Richmond Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Tough and talented, Heavy Metal has to concede 3lb to his rivals in the £60,000 Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes, but he is selected to come through with flying colours in the hands of Kieren Fallon.

Fallon could be set for a profitable afternoon. He also teams up with Kirthill in the £70,000 Dubai Duty Free Handicap.

Trained by Luca Cumani, the four-year-old came good at York last month. Lightly raced this term, Kirthill is fancied to follow up.

The useful Cameron Highland is progressing at a rapid rate and Roger Varian’s handsome colt, three times a winner this season, can add to his tally in the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Arc Trial. Neil Callan has the mount.

In the Group 3 Dubai International Airport World Trophy, a host of high-class sprinters go head to head. Judge ’N Jury lacks nothing in consistency and the Ron Harris-trained gelding may just have the edge in the hands of Luke Morris.

Racing in Scotland tomorrow shifts from Ayr to Hamilton where Shesastar, trained by David Barron at Maunby near Thirsk, is not without a good chance of lifting the featured Flower Of Scotland Fillies’ Handicap, sponsored by Totepool.

A mare who goes well on soft ground, Shesastar also stays beyond six furlongs, tomorrow’s distance, as she proved when finishing fourth to Dutch Rose at York last month over seven furlongs. She should give Graham Gibbons a good ride.

Whatever Mark Johnston’s fate with Heavy Metal today, he also has good prospects tomorrow with Izzy Boy in the opening Bet toteplacepot Text Nursery.

Although he bombed out at York last time, the juvenile had previously shown a good level of form. This is not a race which will take a lot of winning and Izzy Boy has the opportunity to break his duck.

Johnston can also score with nap selection Rythmic, a recent Newcastle winner, in the Racing Post Form With totepool Mobile Handicap.

The Bet totequadpot Conditions Stakes has attracted a small but select field, the pick of which is undoubtedly Gregorian, trained at Newmarket by John Gosden.

Although he was a bitter disappointment last time out at Goodwood, Gregorian had previously been beaten only a length into second place in the Prix Jean-Prat at Chantilly, a Group 1 race. He also ran a blinder to finish third at Royal Ascot in the St James’s Palace Stakes in June.

Gregorian will not need to be in anything like that sort of form to win this £14,000 event, which is surely designed to act as a springboard to get him back in the groove. William Buick travels to Scotland to take the mount.

 

Racing selections

Newbury (today)
1.30 Bit Of A Gift, 2.05 Cameron Highland, 2.35 Heavy Metal, 3.10 Kirthill, 3.45 Judge N Jury, 4.20 Correggio, 4.55 African Oil, 5.30 Morning Call.

Today’s other meetings: Ayr, Catterick, Newmarket and Wolverhampton.

Hamilton (tomorrow)
2.20 Izzy Boy, 2.50 Pearl Ransom, 3.20 Gregorian, 3.50 Colbyor, 4.20 Shesastar, 4.50 Rythmic (NAP), 5.20 Royal Swain.

Tomorrow’s other meetings: Plumpton and Uttoxeter.