Fran Berry Column ahead of Spring Cup at Newbury
Fran Berry looks forward to another busy weekend including rides at Newbury over the next two days, plus one at Nottingham on Saturday evening.
It was great to ride a winner at the Craven Meeting at Newmarket in midweek, with Examiner getting back to his best to score narrowly.
In truth I did feel as though he was going to win a shade cosier than he did in the end but the runner-up, Red Tea, battled back really well and there was just a short-head in it at the line.
It was my first time back on Examiner since he ran well in fourth at Epsom last summer and I suppose that’s a meeting that could come into connections’ thinking again this time around.
One I rode from the meeting who could be worth noting is Chanson De La Mer, who ran a big race in fourth at 100/1 in a good fillies’ maiden won by Roger Varian’s Qazyna.
My horse pulled quite hard but was never nearer than at the finish and I’d say she’s definitely capable of winning races. It was a promising start.
Lihou was another narrow-margin winner for me the other weekend and he needed every yard of the trip. He was just a bit tapped for toe early on but came through nicely to win snug in the end and he’ll be a good fun horse for the David Evans team, especially with a bit of cut in the ground.
I’ve got four to look forward to at Newbury on Friday and Bossiney Bay goes in the 10 furlong fillies maiden. She's a likeable filly physically and I rode her first time out on her sole start at two.
She struggled a bit with the undulations at Nottingham but was always going to be more of a three-year-old anyway and I’m sure she's grown up a lot over the winter.
Hughie Morrison obviously brings them along quite steadily so it'd be unfair to expect anything too flashy and being a daughter of Camelot she might be one to watch out for a little later in the year.
Gracious John has been a real star over the winter and will appreciate the drop back to five furlongs after failing to see it out over six at Lingfield.
On a line through his all-weather form he’s not badly treated here back on turf but I suspect there’s going to be loads of pace on here with Caspian Prince and Just Glamorous in there and I might just have to sit and take a lead.
He won at Leicester last year off 96 and is arguably in the form of his life so if he enjoys being back on the grass and the ground continues to dry out then he might go close.
Golden Birthday still has untapped potential as a stayer and this race has the look of a Chester Cup trial, with several entered up there including ours.
Newbury will give us a line as to whether he goes there but it’ll be nice to get him back on grass after nothing really went to plan at Lingfield the last time.
He was quite fresh and then didn’t get a clear run but he very much has more to offer off this sort of mark. He’s quite an exciting handicapper with the rest of the season in mind and the draw looks decent in stall one.
I don’t know much about Strawberry Lace who debuts for David Menuisier in the seven furlong fillies’ maiden.
I'd imagine the trip may be on the sharp side but she’s by a Derby winner in Sea The Stars and was a 165,000 guineas yearling, so this run will tell us a lot as to where we go.
Onto the weekend and Leader Writer returns in the Elite Racing Club Supporting Greatwood Spring Cup Handicap.
It’s an ultra-competitive handicap but whereas everyone aims for the Lincoln at the start of the season, now there are other options and we’ve had one or two major handicaps in the meantime which has split them up a bit.
That means we’ve easily made the cut for Saturday and I’m hopeful he’ll run another good race.
He was the only one in the Lincoln that got into things from a high draw and in the circumstances I’d be pleased with that.
He obviously won well on soft ground last year but it wouldn’t be wise to pigeon-hole him on that score and while it is drying out, there’s bound to be plenty of moisture in the ground still and Newbury is a very fair, flat track.
We’re drawn 25 of 25 on Saturday which may not be ideal but he could represent a bit of each-way value.
I’m hoping Slipstream might be able to get my day off to a flyer in division one of the mile maiden.
I’ve ridden him out at George Scott’s and quite like him. He was last of eight on his only outing at two but it wasn’t a bad race and Anna Nerium franked the form at Newmarket this week.
He’s by Invincible Spirit and I actually rode the dam, Kiltubber, to win a Listed race at San Siro in Italy back in 2002 and she’s bred some nice types including Fox Hunt and Opinion.
This one is a bit sharper which is no surprise given his sire and although it’s very much the start of his season, he’s a reasonably exciting horse.
I make the journey up to Nottingham for the last race there where I ride Choosey for Henry Candy.
I was quite disappointed in him the last day when well beaten at Bath in August but he got wound up and was coltish before the race.
He ran with the choke out for three furlongs and just didn’t perform but he’s been gelded since and hopefully that has had the desired effect.
I’ve been back riding work at Henry’s this year but haven’t actually sat on Choosey though he was pretty scopey at two so should be better this season.
No doubt he’ll be all the better for the run as he’s one of the stable’s first runners of the year and it’s hard to know where they all stand, but a mark of 72 doesn’t look too harsh.
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