Cammidge Trophy: Absolutely So can bag opener

There will be plenty of eyes kept on the weather over Doncaster in the coming week ahead of the first day of the British Flat season on Saturday. The current going is good to soft, soft in places, but with no heavy patches of rain forecast for the coming days, it looks as though conditions may be on the quicker side for the Lincoln meeting.

The forecast lack of rain will be a negative for connections of Mobsta, who won the opening race on Saturday’s card, the listed Cammidge Trophy, 12 months ago on heavy ground, before adding an Irish Group 2 to his tally later in the season. A bona fide mudlark, ground with good in the description (which looks a big possibility) will definitely be against him.

Though Birchwood’s standout effort from last season came on soft ground (when winning a listed race over seven furlongs at Chester) he will be fine on a quicker surface, and he currently heads the market. Birchwood’s free-going nature means that he was not seen to best effect in the likes of the Lennox Stakes and the City of York Stakes after that last term, and the drop back to six furlongs looks a positive move. That said, he is probably about the right price in the market given his quirks.

Nameitwhatyoulike is next in the betting and arrives here on the back of his best ever season, despite now being an eight-year-old. He would have claims on the form of his win in the Garrowby Stakes at York in September (acknowledging that the second Danzeno did plenty wrong that day) and, with form both at the track and first time out, a bold bid is expected from the front.

A big field and strong pace courtesy of Nameitwhatyoulike, potentially pressed by Birchwood, Pipers Note, Scrutineer and perhaps Swift Approval, should really suit the next horse in the market, Absolutely So. Though he was without a win last season, Absolutely So ran well from big weights in both the Wokingham Stakes (fourth, first home on the far side where the bulk of the field raced) and the Ayr Gold Cup (sixth). A dual listed winner in previous seasons and boasting a good record when fresh, as well as being versatile with regards ground, he ticks plenty of boxes here and is an interesting contender if they go quick enough.

Others to mention include Tupi, who is fit from three winter starts in the Middle East and has Ryan Moore as an eye-catching early jockey booking, and Ride Like The Wind, who was placed at Group 3 level when with Freddy Head in France and shaped as if he’d come on for his first outing for Kevin Ryan. But, in the hope that the field holds up (which in terms of current jockey bookings, looks likely) and they go quick enough up front, Absolutely So could be the bet, having shown that he is still good enough to win at this level with two bits of solid handicap form last season. As always with these early season skirmishes, however, fitness is taken on confidence, and conservative stakes are advised.

Recommendation:

Back Absolutely So in the Cammidge Trophy at 6/1

Click here to read Simon Rowlands' Lincoln Handicap preview