Charles Eddery – won on Eljaddaaf
WELCOME to a new weekly column, Review of the Week, which looks at Dean Ivory’s runners during the last seven days (Monday to Sunday). It will also focus on some Harper Lodge Farm horses to watch out for in the future and sometimes some horses from other yards to keep an eye on.
I should stress these are my personal views and are intended to enhance your racing enjoyment. Review of the Week is by no means a tipping column guaranteeing a road to future fortunes!
Last week saw Dean send out eight runners which yielded one winner and two seconds. The winner was Eljaddaaf in a 6f Apprentice handicap at Kempton on the Wednesday and the late maturing 5yo son of Shamardal was given a great strong ride by Charles Eddery to get his head in front by a neck.
Bred by Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud, he first ran last November as at 4yo and has now won four times in just eleven starts for Dean. This was the yard’s eighth win from 41 runs in June at a strike rate of 20%.
Jack The Laird, the 7/4 favourite, was beaten a head at Wolverhampton by a 28/1 shot. There were no real hard luck stories but ‘Jack’ should be capable of winning again.
Harlequin Striker ran a great race at Epsom when second over 7f and was a shade unlucky, having met trouble in running. He steps up to a mile at Windsor tonight (8.05pm) and looks to have a great chance of going one better although fellow market rival, Quebee, might prefer the quicker ground and is a serious threat.
Lancelot Du Lac – one to keep an eye on
Lancelot Du Lac looked to hate the soft ground in the Coral Charge at Sandown on Saturday but I will be surprised if there is not a big win in this horse before the end of the season.
Away from the Dean Ivory yard, another horse who definitely hated the ground at Sandown was the Roger Charlton-trained Time Test, who was only beaten 1 3/4 lengths in the Coral Eclipse. Always held in high regard, keep an eye on this five-times winner when the ground firms up. The Juddmonte International over the Eclipse trip looks a likely target, given the owner sponsors the race.
