5:00 Kempton – Lily in the Jungle
The second 2-year-old contest of the new season takes place on Wednesday night at Kempton and whilst it is never easy to be confident about unraced juveniles, there is plenty of optimism that LILY IN THE JUNGLE could outrun her odds. As her name suggests, she is a daughter of Bungle IntheJungle, who is known for the precocity that he passes on to his progeny and from a good draw in stall 3, she could have the early speed to get into a prominent position. Her half-sister won as a Juvenile over 5-furlongs for the yard, whilst David Evans had 2 runners who ran reasonably well in the Brocklesby at Doncaster at the weekend, which would suggest his 2-year-olds are well forwards. The key to the inside track at Kempton is to get into a prominent position, so with a low draw, she could get into the ideal position before the bend under Charles Bishop.
2:20 Market Rasen – Wolfspear
Fame and Glory has a 26% strike rate on Good ground with his progeny and so with drying conditions in his favour, this could be the perfect opportunity for WOLFSPEAR to gain a first win over hurdles. Olly Murphy’s 6-year-old makes his handicap debut on a mark of 99, which looks very workable based on the form he has shown in 3 novice hurdles so far this season. He won a bumper at Huntingdon in May last year and has run well over hurdles, including when 3rd to the unbeaten Shallow River last time out. He probably paid the price for trying to match Shallow River, who made all to win in good style, but it was still a promising run to set him up for handicaps. In an open race, he could well prove to have too much ability for most of his rivals and it will be a surprise if he doesn’t prove to be better than Class 5 company in time. He is a half-brother to the very talented Sensulano, who reached a peak rating of 138 for Noel Williams and if he can get even close to her ability, then a mark of 99 could look to be very lenient.
