A Quiet One at Stratford …

Hi there,

People were getting quite excited by the performance of Luxembourg in last weekend’s Vertem Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster but I’ll be surprised if there aren’t better prospects around next season.

I don’t much care for his high head carriage, even allowing for that being a trait of a few of the progeny of his sire Camelot, while his rather ungainly action suggests that he will be favoured by easy ground.

I concede he had won his previous two starts on good ground, but quicker conditions may not come naturally to him.

I am indebted to Tom Collins in the Weekender, who reports that the final-furlong sectional was an unimpressive 12.99sec.

The 2000 Guineas may be a more suitable target than the Derby, but I am already on the lookout for something to emerge from the maidens, either this back-end, the all-weather programme or next spring.

The rain returned with a vengeance at Ffos Las today but the horse for the notebook is Valshan Time, who was having his first run for 1,185 days in the first division of the 0-100 handicap hurdle at Stratford.

Last seen at Worcester in July, 2018, connections must have been delighted with the way he shaped, racing just off the lead for much of the way until crashing through the rails after the second last. The nine-year-old could have thrown in the towel at that point, but to his great credit he kept on bravely to finish sixth, not losing any more ground on the leaders.

He has yet to win a race but watch for him in a low-grade handicap in the not too distant future.

Bye for now

Marten