Hot To Trot: Sparkalot can win again for Dow

By Ben Fearnley — published 17th March 2018

Ben Fearnley flags up three trainers who are in good form at present and picks out some interesting horses that may run for them in the next few days.

Jumps trainer: Oliver Sherwood

Oliver Sherwood was very quiet at the start of this season – he had a single winner throughout the month of December – but things are going a lot better for the yard now, and his runners in the coming week are well worth a second look. What’s Occurring ran one of his better races during the yard’s quiet spell (third at Plumpton in December) and was seemingly didn’t stay the extended two and a half miles at Market Rasen last time. He wouldn’t have to improve much more to win a novice and could be interesting if taking up his entry back at two miles at Ludlow on Thursday. Safe Harbour was another to run during that December period (finished 11^th of 12 at Doncaster) and was also below form after two months off at Kempton in early-February. He cost a fair bit as a three-year-old (£53,000), however, and has shown bits of form in novice company, so could be worth a look if showing up in either of the handicaps which he is entered in at Southwell and Exeter next week.

Flat trainer: Simon Dow

Of all the Flat trainers in Britain and Ireland at the moment, Simon Dow comes out as the most ‘in-form’ on Timeform figures, his last 11 runners not only comprising three winners and two second places but also featuring career-best efforts from Mr Scaramanga, Corazon Espinado and Roundabout Magic. It would be no surprise to see the winners keep coming next week, and Dow has two potential runners at Kempton on Wednesday, both of which could be interesting. Sparkalot is a four-year-old but looks just the sort to have more to offer this year (unraced as a juvenile), and ran a career-best when winning over six furlongs at Kempton at the end of January in the manner of a horse that may well stay ahead of the handicapper for some time to come. Le Torrent – entered on the same card – won his first two starts for Dow way back in 2015, and though he clearly hasn’t been easy to train since (ran once in 2016), he’d be worth keeping an eye on for future reference (still lightly raced for a six-year-old).

Under The Radar: Nicky Richards

Nicky Richards’ only runner at the Cheltenham Festival, Guitar Pete, finished a good sixth in the Plate (doing best of those who raced from well off the pace) and that good run certainly wasn’t out of the blue for a yard who are in excellent form at present (two winners and five seconds from previous 10 runners). One of his to look out for next week could be Progress Drive, who improved for the step up in trip when winning easily at Ayr in February. He’s likely to have even more to offer – just three starts over fences and only two at three miles – and would be of interest if showing up in the novice for which he is entered at Wetherby on Tuesday.

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