Oasis Fantasy to prove out of the ordinary in tricky handicap
RACE 6 5.15pm
Investec Out Of The Ordinary Handicap
IN big field handicaps at the high-profile race meetings it can be tempting to ignore the first few in the market in search of a longer-priced alternative.
That will be the view of many punters when they take a look at today’s Investec Out of the Ordinary Handicap. With 20 runners set to go post over 1m4f and recent winning form hard to find, this looks a tough race to call.
But a glance at the last 10 winners of this contest shows there have only been two priced at bigger than 10/1 – and even those were just 11/1 and 12/1.
OASIS FANTASY is likely to be prominent in the betting, but Ed Dunlop’s charge holds an outstanding chance based on recent form.
All three of the gelding’s runs this season have been full of promise and the four-year-old was unlucky not to win a decent race at Goodwood last time.
Upped to 14 furlongs for the first time, Franny Norton reported that his mount was too keen and that probably cost him up against the useful Quest For More.
The selection should get a strong pace back down in trip here, with Buthelezi a confirmed front-runner, and Richard Hughes is a master in the saddle at getting a horse to settle and into a nice rhythm.
Oasis Fantasy is less-exposed than some of these and, although up 5lb for that Goodwood second, there should be more to come from this son of Oasis Dream.
As for the others, it’s the course and distance victors that must be respected when they return to this unique track, so the likes of Jakey, Barwick and Lungarno Palace all deserve a second look.
The last-named was a winner for this paper on Investec Derby Trial Day back in April, beating a few that re-oppose here, but was 12th of 13 on his last start.
Amanda Perrett notched back-to-back wins in this race in 2006 and 2007 and runs two today – Blue Surf, third last year, and Black Thunder.
The latter only has a maiden win to his name, but was second to What About Carlo in a good handicap on this day 12 months ago, which proves he can handle the course.
A four-length defeat to Mutadis Mutandis on his seasonal reappearance at Windsor looks better now than it did then, with the winner going on to land a Listed race at Nottingham on Wednesday.
Black Thunder could be a big danger with William Buick a positive jockey booking, but I’m happy to stick with Oasis Fantasy.
▪ Pointers…
OASIS FANTASY