Knight to make sweet music in the Great Metropolitan
Epsom's Spring Meeting often sees the same horses turn up year after year.
The Investec Corporate Banking Great Metropolitan Handicap (3.05pm), run over the Investec Derby trip, features last year’s first and third, Lungarno Palace and Barwick.
I tipped the former 12 months ago and he is only a pound higher, so has to be respected in his bid to follow-up.
My worry with him is that this is his reappearance, while last year he was arriving on the Downs after a promising effort at Doncaster.
Barwick has some solid course form, but he’s eight years old now and has never won off a mark as high as this.
The one I will be backing is the progressive KNIGHT MUSIC for local trainer Michael Attwater.
He has won three of his last four races, including last month on his first start after being gelded.
This four-year-old handles cut in the ground and looks to be nicely handicapped off a mark of 81.
Ryan Moore is an interesting jockey booking for Oasis Fantasy, although his mount finds it hard to win.
Having been beaten in his last 18 starts, SMOOTHTALKINRASCAL has tumbled down the handicap to a career-low mark of 77.
Now may finally be the time he can get his nose back in front in the Investec Asset Finance Handicap (2.00pm).
Stable jockey Shane Kelly has opted to ride him over Peter Crate’s other runner, Sandfrankskipsgo, and that’s likely to be because of the ground.
Smoothtalkinrascal has plenty of form with give underfoot – three of his four career wins have come with soft in the going description.
He also finished sixth in the Investec Dash last June off a 10lb higher mark, so he is undeniably well-handicapped.
POINTERS
Smoothtalkinrascal e/w 2.00pm Epsom
Knight Music e/w 3.05pm Epsom