When two tribes…

EAAA vs Epsom Downs Residency Challenge — Owner Restricted-Alw

Open 10F Dirt for 3yo+

The inaugural EAAA v Epsom Downs Residency challenge gets underway with what is normally considered the Blue Riband event on the European circuit. Indeed the quality of charges from both residencies mean there are NO inferior races in the series and whilst many of the horses will never be world beaters, they are all here on merit.

The format of the competition is quite straight forward – each residency chose 4 race classifications and a maximum of 10 entries per race from each side is allowed. Points are scored based on position and the winner claims bragging rights for 12 months.

On to the entries:

EAAA FINAL NOMINATIONS

Quiet in the wings (hawkk1) – A great example of what you can find if you look hard enough. Broke her maiden over the sprints and was considered surplus to requirements by her previous owner. Just 4 races later, hawkk1 looks to have found her niche and her last race must put her in the hunt.

Bucking Bronco (coolk2) – Multiple Stakes winner and has a Group 3 victory over the trip. Anything from a stable beginning with ‘cool’ will frighten the life out of the competition and this one is no exception. A shrewd placing LTO saw her on the lawn for the only time in her career and the surface switch will galvanise her.

Risky Venture (kevoman) – Possibly the only thing worse that seeing ‘cool’ at the start of a stable name is coming up against a horse from one of the kevoman yards! This one has been nurtured and brought through the ranks fulfilling all the conditions before moving up to try Stakes company. This didn’t prove too successful but triple digits over the distance and a time below 2:02 for the distance puts this on in with a big shout.

Eternal City (kevoman2) – Likely pacemaker, Eternal City doesn’t like anything to pass her. Unfortunately, she has a habit of just switching off when headed so it’s wire to wire or nothing for this lovely filly. She’s a consistent sort, winning five stakes races and earning a tasty 300k up to now.

Senor Roberto (kevoman4) – The residency 10f specialist trainer sends out another multiple stakes winner but he might find this a furlong or 2 short. He comes into the race off just 2 weeks rest but his preparation coming into the race has been quite comfortable and it would be a brave man to write him off!

Independent State (kevoman4) – The second entry from the kevoman4 stable and (surprisingly) this one is not a stakes winner. Having said that, he has recorded a couple of sub 2:03 runs over the 10 furlong distance and that form is good enough to put him into the shake up.

Fragrant Son (kevoman4) – A hat trick of runners for the kevoman4 stable and one that has never been tried at the distance! It shouldn’t be a problem for this Mtoto x Sadler’s Wells colt and even if he doesn’t figure, the shrewd trainer will have one of the remaining questions about his charge answered.

Gold Bullet (londoner) – Quite comfortable on both surfaces but probably shows a slight preference for the dirt. Ran a great race two back to just lose out when a speed dual worked against him and he was caught by a deep closing sort. It could happen again if the race develops into a battle of the speedsters.

PJ Fully Paid (cooldude) – After 2 seasons of lawn racing, the trainer took a bold decision and stuck him on the dirt. He was instantly rewarded with the horse’s first 3 digit run and hasn’t looked back since. He needs to time his race to perfection – if he hits the front too early, he will idle and throw the race away but too late on the gas and he will have too much to do. A good jockey booking is crucial.

Free Of Pain (scootboy) – Rounding out the EAAA entries is scootboy’s improver. Has run a couple of decent races over an extended mile but looked to be begging for further LTO when quicker horses were going past him in the straight after 9 furlongs. He’ll appreciate the step up and will provide solid support to the EAAA team.

EPSOM DOWNS FINAL NOMINATIONS

Griblee (robscoobi2) – Nice looking colt saddled with a ridiculous name! Either the owner is a keen climber or a national lampoon’s fan with a memory problem. Despite the name, robscoobi2 seems to have made the most of his bargain breed and if he reproduces his form from 4 races ago, he might just spring a surprise.

Code Of Dixie (epsom) – Normally, I’d say the drop back in class would suit but this is no typical Allowance race – it’s a Stakes race without the prestige and even though the preparation looks good, you have to feel that this one is on the wrong side of the hill and will struggle to keep up.

Oxys (euroalien) – Nothing wrong with the pedigree – Woodman x Ela-Mana-Mou – and this one is going to be challenging for an early lead but with so much speed in the race already, this one could end up with the other also-rans as the deep closers sweep past in the latter stages.

Thrilla Villa (CPU or New Player) – Not sure how this got into the Epsom Downs nominations, but suffice to say that it’ll be a non-runner.

Angel’s Fling (crackpot) – A wonderful example of “it’s not the winning but the taking part!” Picked up for a very reasonable $4000 two back, this one will undoubtedly earn the trainer plenty of BPs but he might have been better placed in a small starter allowance.

Thunder Rainbow (shooter4) – Another useful claim by the owner…from one of the EAAA stables! Londoner rarely lets a good one go and even though the new owner found a nice spot to grab some easy BPs in that vital first race for a new yard, it will be a big surprise if he is good enough to repeat the effort here.

Mr NPK (court1) – I usually try to find something positive to say about each horse I write about for the BTB – but the Epsom Downs residency is pushing my skills to the very limit! About the only thing I can say is that court1’s loyalty is to be admired!

Between A Rock (jeremyf) – You have to go back 5 races to find form that could take this race. A repeat of that race, run in 2:02 and change would certainly put him in the mix but more recent runs show he would be far better suited with taking advantage of his NW2x conditions than attempting to keep up with these.

Nicking (deeprock10) – Lightly raced and last two runs command respect. Having said that, it would be difficult to find an easier follow up race for a horse just losing his maiden tag. His closing style could be useful but his inexperience may count against him. One for the exotics.

Fleetrussiandancer (gomezp) – Let’s be brutally honest! This one couldn’t win with a 10 yard start, running downhill with a following wind! Nice bloodlines, but it’s going to be hard work getting this to win anything outside of the lowest level conditions.

All in all, this looks to be a competitive affair to start the day’s proceedings and should provide the springboard to a monumental EAAA victory on the day!