Good Ball

27th-Mar-2021

It is a pity that Hooper has come out of the race, it means that there will be a Rule 4 deduction to our bet on Good Ball if he wins, but we are still ahead of the market.

He looked good in winning at Newbury on his debut for Paul Nicholls, when he had Gowel Road behind him in fourth place.  Gowel Road beat him back at Newbury last time, but it was a good tussle between the two of them over the last two flights, and they pulled nicely clear of their rivals.

Gowel Road is a talented and progressive horse who raced off a handicap rating of 137 in the County Hurdle.  Good Ball gets to race today off a mark of 131, and that mark could under-estimate him.

As well as that, he got close to Teahupoo on his hurdling bow in France, and Teahupoo won a Grade 3 race at Fairyhouse last month and is now ragted 138.  He gets the four-year-olds’ allowance today, he is proven at Newbury and, with just three runs over hurdles on his CV, he has the potential to go beyond his mark of 131.

GOOD BALL WON (ADV 11/4 [R4], SP 2/1)