David O’Meara
had five runners on November 17 across the cards at Chelmsford City
and the newly installed all-weather surface at Newcastle. O’Meara
has had two wins from his last six starts, while Alfred Hutchinson
came very close to giving him a hat-trick of successes on November 12
at Lingfield but was just touched off by a length.
The
Yorkshire-based trainer was expected to have more joy on November 14
at Newcastle with Mon Beau Visage who was heavily tipped
up to win a handicap over 7f, but the 3/1 favourite
was headed inside the final furlong and had to settle for seventh
place in the race won by Kalk Bay.
The highlight of
the year so far for O’Meara has to be his
success in Arlington Million XXXIV Stakes where
Mondaliste landed the spoils in the Grade One contest at Arlington
Park back in August to pick up just short of £400,000 in prize
money.
With the turf
season done for the year, O’Meara will be concentrating on having
as many winners as he can on the all-weather surface during the
winter. Here is a look at the chances of O’Meara’s runners
at the two meetings on November 17 in what could be another
great day for the in-form trainer.
1.25
Newcastle – Betway Sprint Stakes
The first of
four runners for O’Meara starts in this competitive 6f sprint at
Newcastle where he saddles Highland Acclaim. The
consistent five-year-old has been placed on his last two starts so
has been knocking on the door of late.
The gelding was
only beaten by less than a length at Chelmsford City last month when
running off a mark of 90. He led going into the final furlong but
just got headed in the last 100 yards by Boomerang Bob and Doctor
Sardonicus, who finished first and second respectively.
Highland Acclaim
went so close to making up for that loss when he ran at Wolverhampton
on his latest start. This time off an official rating of 87, he was
just over a length away from the winner, Upstaging, a four-year-old
from Paul Cole’s yard, while the heavily experienced Seeking Magic
was a neck in front of him in second place.
The horse’s
last start was over the sharper trip of 5f which was the first time
he had run over that distance before. O’Meara has opted to step him
back up to 6f at Newcastle, the distance all four of his career wins
have come at and the trip which looks to be where he is most
comfortable at.
Highland Acclaim
goes into this handicap with a mark of 91, however, that should not
punters off backing the horse. He has won off 94 before, while his
two recent runs both indicate he is running very well so he may only
need a bit of luck to go his way for him to return to the
winners’ enclosure.
The danger in
the race will be the lightly raced Spanish City who won over this
course and distance last month. At the age of just three and with
only five runs under his belt, he could be ahead of the handicapper
for trainer Roger Varian.
Dragon King is
also worth a mention right near the bottom of the weights. Michael
Dods’ horse went so close to victory last time out at this course.
The first-time headgear seemed to work well on the horse so it would
be no surprise to see this son of Dylan Thomas in contention again in
the closing stages of this 6f contest.
1.55
Newcastle - Betway Maiden Stakes
Sunglider
will be bidding to break his maiden at Newcastle at the 12th
attempt under the hands of Graham Gibbons. The three-year-old
was first given a mark of 85 by the handicapper but he has sloped all
the way down to 75 which gives him a great opportunity to win for the
first time. O’Meara’s runner is the top-rated horse in this
1m2f contest and it may not take much winning if he can bring his
best performance.
The closest
Sunglider has come to breaking his maiden was in his two-year-old
campaign when he was trained by Dermot Weld in Ireland. The colt
chased home a highly thought-of Aidan O’Brien runner in Shogun
where he finished just over two lengths behind the Coolmore runner.
Since that
outing at the Curragh, Sunglider has finished second on three other
occasions, including runs at Ripon and Thirsk. The
three-year-old switched stables earlier this year and he ran for the
very first time for O’Meara back in May where he finished second
behind Sir Michael Stoute’s Mustashry off a mark of 84.
Sunglider was
prominent in the betting on his latest start at Newcastle on the
all-weather surface where he handled the track well to finish third
of eight runners over 1m2f. The colt was close up inside the final
furlong and kept on well under pressure but was unable to go with
Ready and L’Inganno Felice who finished ahead of him crossing the
line.
To end up in
Weld’s stable as a two-year-old, the horse is clearly well bred and
with the greatest respect to O’Meara, was probably expected to go
onto bigger opportunities than this handicap as a three-year-old.
Unfortunately, he has not lived up to what his breeding has suggested
he would do. However, that is not to say the Yorkshire trainer can’t
find an improvement out of the horse.
The biggest
threat to Sunglider in this maiden looks to be James Fanshawe’s
runner Issue. He has only seen a racecourse twice and was expected to
score at Kempton on his latest start where he went off as the 2/1
favourite. He may just have needed those outings to get used to the
whole experience of a racecourse. It would be no surprise to see him
make a considerable improvement.
Given it is a
weak maiden, it may be wise to also watch the market for any support
for Black Is Black and Maifalki who are both making their debuts. It
is not normally advised to back horses who are making their first
run, however, they would not need to be special to take this contest.
Sunglider
definitely represents a solid each-way bet here though and if all 10
runners go to post, O’Meara’s runner should have a great chance
of finishing in the frame and picking up some place money at the very
least.
5.50
Chelmsford – ToteQuadpot Four Places In Four Races Claiming Stakes
After two races
at Newcastle, O’Meara and his team will be hotfooting down to
Chelmsford for their evening meeting. The first of his three
runners on the card comes in the 6f sprint at 5.50 where Regal
Dan will look to defy top weight against seven rivals.
The talented
Regal Dan arguably is O’Meara’s best chance of a winner at
Chelmsford as the six-year-old has been running in much better
company than this field so is more than capable of picking up the
prize money for connections. The talented Shelley Birkett picks
up the ride on this sprinter which is very helpful as she claims
three pounds of his back.
Regal Dan came
very close to winning two weeks back at Chelmsford over the slightly
longer trip of seven furlongs. He finished second behind the odds-on
favourite Fort Bastion in a really respectable run.
It’s been a
busy campaign for the six-year-old as this will be his 12th run of
the year. He started his campaign back in April at Doncaster in a
Class Three handicap and the closest he has come to winning was at
Town Moor in July where he was denied by a nose in a photo finish
against James Tate’s Brazos. This horse has been rated as high
as 91 so off a mark of 83 at Chelmsford, you have to feel the
handicapper has given him a chance.
It’s only a
small field for this sprint but the majority of their runners will be
in with a chance, including Zac Brown who is the officially the
highest rated in the contest at 92. He featured in a Listed race at
Lingfield not long ago so is clearly the danger to O’Meara’s
runner.
6.25 –
Chelmsford – Totepoolliveinfo.com Handicap
O’Meara has
given himself two chances of winning this seven-furlong handicap at
6.25 as he mounts That Is The Spirit and He’s
No Saint to take on the field. Both horses look to have
an excellent chance of being in the mix in what is the best race on
the card at Chelmsford.
O’Meara has
booked the services of William Buick to ride That Is The Spirit which
is an excellent boost for the horse. This five-year-old has been
one of the flagship horses in the Yorkshireman’s yard. In 2014
he ran in the Group
One Qatar Prix de la Forêt at Longchamp as a
three-year-old, while the following season he was successful in a
Listed contest and also took part in the Group Two Betfred Hungerford
Stakes.
At the age of
five, That Is The Spirit is being campaigned in high-class handicap
races like this one at Chelmsford. He was a winner two starts back at
this trip at Ayr where he made all the running at the Scottish track
to score by a head.
The
six-year-old’s latest run at Leicester last month is a concern as
he ran very flat, finishing last of the six runners. However, if you
put a line through that outing, he deserves to be near the top end of
the betting for this race and will be in with every chance of coming
out on top.
He’s No Saint
doesn’t quite have the same CV as his stablemate, however, the son
of Dutch Art has earned just short of £60,000 for his connections
with four wins to his name in his career so far.
The gelding came
very close to a course and distance success last month only to be
denied by a head behind George William. At a starting price of 16/1,
O’Meara’s runner was not fancied to be in the running, however,
he ran very well off a mark of 88 to suggest another big run could
follow on Thursday.
He’s No Saint
has one win to his name this season. He scored at Lingfield back in
September when Champion Jockey Jim Crowley rode him to victory in a
six-runner contest. He justified favouritism on that occasion to land
the spoils. Since that victory, he has struggled a little with
his mark and has finished down the field in runs at Chelmsford and
York.
The highest
rated horse in this race is Chookie Royale. Despite being eight years
old now, the veteran still has to be respected, as he proved on his
latest start where he scored at Kempton off a mark of 104.
Chookie Royale
has had 66 races so far in his career and has earned just short of
£200,000 in prize money. At his very best, Keith Dalgleish’s
runner has been rated as high as 111 therefore at 110 he is just shy
of that figure.
The
eight-year-old has a six-pound penalty to contend with following his
Kempton win but Shirley Teasdale will be taking five pounds off his
back so connections will fancy of more success from their horse.
Further down the
card, Supersta is another interesting contender. He has not been seen
on a racecourse in 161 so it would be a fantastic training job from
Michael Appleby if he were to come out on top. This five-year-old is
a course and distance winner and has Luke Morris in the saddle,
arguably the best all-weather jockey riding today.
Of the two
O’Meara runners, That Is The Spirit clearly has the best chance of
success, however, at the prices, He’s No Saint could be a solid
each-way selection given there are 13 runners in the field so you
have three places on your side.
