Modern News

16th-Apr-2022

I was close to backing Rogue Bear in the Spring Cup.  He was the eye-catcher from the Lincoln.  Drawn high, he missed the break and he was squeezed out of it early, with the result that he was last early on.  He came with a good run down the near side to finish third, from a high draw and racing in rear in a race in which the low-drawn horses who raced prominently dominated.  The other three horses who, with him, filled the first four places occupied the first three places in the race from early, and they all raced from low draws.

That said, the finishing speeds in the Lincoln were not fast, it may be that Rogue Bear was not inconvenienced by being held up early.  As well as that, he hasn’t been missed by many, and 7/2 is just about right about him.  By contrast, I think that the 6/1 about Modern News is too big.

Charlie Appleby’s horse finished seventh in the Lincoln, a length and a half behind Rogue Bear, but he raced in the middle and among horses.  He wasn’t an unlucky loser or anything, but he just never got into clear sailing. 

It was just his second run in a big field, his first in a big-field handicap, and he could progress significantly for the experience.  Also, it was his first run since he stayed on well to finish third in a listed race in Dubai in February over seven furlongs, and he was keeping on well at the finish.  That was his first run too over a mile, he could step forward nicely from that today, and this one-mile trip could be his optimum.

Charlie Appleby’s horses are in really good form, he had five winners from nine runners at the Craven meeting, and William Buick is back on board.

MODERN NEWS WON (ADV 6/1, SP 5/1)