York’s Magnet Cup is always a great betting race and Saturday’s race has attracted a massive 42 declarations at the confirmation stage. There are some rapidly improving types amongst them and the two that stand out for me are Niceofyoutotellme and Nabucco, first and second at Newmarket last month.
John Gosden’s Nabucco did this column a favour when landing a handicap at the same venue but has incurred a 5lb penalty. That theoretically gives him a lot to do with Niceofyoutotellme, being 3lbs worse off with the horse that beat him a length.
As far as I am aware, both horses have been given the green light for the race and there are no major concerns about the fast ground. Ralph Beckett’s horse first caught my eye when finishing like a train to win on the all-weather and he produced a fine turn of foot to cut down Nabucco last time. The runner-up won nicely under a canny ride from Ryan Moore subsequently and could still be improving.
The draw has come to the rescue of the bookies on several occasions recently and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that these two smart horses are not given an impossible task. Ladbrokes are best on both horses and I expect both to shorten up.
The early favourite is Stencive, trained by William Haggas and ridden by the in-form Graham Lee. He was heavily backed when second to Opinion at Royal Ascot last month. I expressed reservations about the quality of that particular Ascot race last week and it was no real surprise that Opinion could not lump 9st 10lb to victory in the Old Newton Cup. Having said that, he ran creditably in a muddling sort of race and Stencive did give him too much rope at Ascot.
Sir Michael Stoute’s Rye House is a horse that I have been keen to follow since he bolted up at York earlier in the season but he has missed a number of engagements since. In fact, he was Moore’s intended mount at Ascot before switching to Opinion. I think his problem may be the ground as he does hit the ground quite hard. I’m guessing that Sir Michael is waiting for a bit of cut in the ground before risking him and I don’t see that happening this weekend.
Another progressive sort is Clon Brulee who absolutely hacked up at Ripon before following up in the Zetland Gold Cup. If he gets a favourable draw he could well prove a danger and he has the right profile for this race.
David Simcock’s Whispering Warrior keeps on winning and has gone up over two stone in the handicap this season. His only recent blemish came at Newmarket when he was baulked early on and could never get competitive. He looks like one of those horses who keeps a bit to himself in the closing stages and is another to consider in a fascinating contest.
For the moment, I shall pin my colours to the Newmarket form and hope that the declarations and draw are favourable.
Niceofyoutotellme 12-1 Ladbrokes
Nabucco 16-1 Ladbrokes
