Two bets today, including a very strong fancy in the mares' novice hurdle at Catterick.
3.00 Lingfield
MERCERS (best price 7-2) has taken really well to all-weather racing – in particular, at today’s track – and he looks set to continue the good work in a race that should be run to suit. Runner-up on his first visit to the Surrey venue, Peter Crate’s charge backed up that initial performance by gaining a deserved success on his next outing, and with time figures of both efforts suggesting he’s run to a decent level already, the possibility of more improvement to come, a likely fast pace and a draw that should enable him to tuck in behind the speed, all add up to his solid claims.
3.20 Catterick
GOLDEN VISION (NAP) (best price 11-8) made the perfect start to her career for new connections when scoring tidily at Wetherby and she has the ability to cope to uphold the form with Becky The Thatcher and also see off the other previous winner, All My Love. A winner over hurdles in the French provinces, Dan Skelton’s inmate wasted no time picking up the thread for what is required over here and in dominating that mares’ only contest at the Yorkshire venue from start to finish, she marked herself down as an exciting prospect. A tall, rangy daughter of Vision D’Etat with plenty of substance, she clearly has plenty of scope for jumping fences in the future, but for now she looks like having her sights being kept fairly low until the time is right to unleashed her against sterner opposition than she faces today.
