Betway Kachy Stakes - 1:11pm
A field of 13 has been entered for the Betway Kachy Stakes at Lingfield Park on Saturday and you’d have to say it would be incredibly poignant were Fizzy Feet to win the race for owner David Lowe and his family. David and his family owned the great sprinter Kachy, who this race is named after, so a success for them would mean more to them than just winning.
Fizzy Feet has had plenty of racing in her career, but she could still be improving. Her success at Wolverhampton last time, where she beat a field of horses who were all rated higher than her was impressive and that victory set her up for a tilt at the Betway Kachy Stakes.
A horse who will be of strong interest to punters is undoubtedly Misty Grey. He’s three from three since joining Tom Dascombe’s yard and it appears his new trainer has found the key to his improvement. He was previously trained by Mark Johnston and as a two year old, was very highly tried. He ran in the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom, the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot, the Richmond at Goodwood and the Gimcrack at York amongst other top races, which suggests his trainer felt he had plenty of ability. He is one we want to keep on side of.
It’s no surprise to see both Venturous and Exhalted Angel entered too. The former has had the beating of the latter named horse on three occasions this winter, but the David Barron trained eight year old did get first fun on his rival on two of those occasions. It’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top in round four!
Arguably, one of the most intriguing entries is Mums Tipple. We all remember Mums Tipple when he exploded on to scene with an 11-length romp in a sales race at York in August 2019, earning him an official rating of 116. Of course, following that, he was very highly tried, but he has been incredibly disappointing. He’s only beaten seven of 60 horses’ home on his past five starts and does has plenty to prove. He has now been dropped to a mark of 102, so the question is, could he spring back to form in the Betway Kachy Stakes this weekend? It looks as though Ryan Moore will be taking the ride, too. The rider has a 21% strike-rate on Lingfield’s all-weather track in the past five years.
Betway Winter Derby Trial - 1:45pm
After seeing the entries for the Betway Winter Derby last week, seeing a handful of those entries entered for the Betway Winter Derby Trial this weekend hasn’t come as a shock! Last year’s runaway winner Bankgok has been entered and will no doubt go off favourite if he were to be declared on Thursday morning. He’s always been highly thought of by his trainer, Betway ambassador Andrew Balding and being the highest rated horse in this race, he is the one they all have to beat. It is worth noting that his trainer has mentioned that he may not run if he were to be invited to race in Saudi Arabia, but his connections won’t make that commitment until later this week.
He finished second in a muddling four-runner race at Wolverhampton last time out, beaten by a horse called Felix, who is also entered for Saturday’s race. It was a very tactical affair and Bangkok had to make his own running, which wouldn’t have been ideal as he’s better from coming from just off the pace. You would expect him to sit in behind at Lingfield and try to take up the running at they turn for home, much like he did 12 months ago. The aforementioned Felix is fast improving for the Marco Botti team and is four from five on the all-weather.
Mark Johnston has entered two horses with the most eye-catching being West End Charmer. He hasn’t been since Royal Ascot last year but started last term with an impressive all-the-way success at Newmarket two weeks prior. You’d expect him to make the running on Saturday and play “catch me if you can” with his rivals.
