Nice few days racing coming up, with a good racing at Sandown on Saturday, Ireland on Sunday, and a decent supporting card at Sandown tomorrow too.
Will be interesting to see Simonsig take on Fingal Bay.
The Future Stars Chase is a bit of a poser though. Bostons Angel has the grade 1 wins in the bag, but there isn't much form worth any salt out of them. He unseated last time out before the race had got into full flow, so that leaves his last few runs to come under the microscope. The RSA was an odd race and not much form has come out of it really. Time For Rupert was put in his place in the Betfair (on a track that probably didn't suit him 100%), while at Wetherby all he really beat was Poquelin (who didn't stay) and Nacarat. From the RSA, Jessies Dream hasn't been seen since; Wayward Prince only beat one other finisher when sent off favourite at Aintree, then was pulled up in the Hennessy on his seasonal bow after a sloppy jumping performance; Magnanimity hasn't ran since; Master Of The Hall fell in that same Aintree race and hasn't ran since; Elysian Rock has been handicapping off 127; with the rest failing to complete the race.... The Giant Bolster has been erratic as ever; Wymott ran a staying-on 6th at Newbury in the Hennessy on his seasonal bow, quite encouraging; Quel Esprit got back on the right track with a win in an average race last month; After having a pipe-opener at Kempton, 1833 was well beaten in the Hennessy; and Mikael D'Haguenet has been back over hurdles the last twice after another average run over fences at Fairyhouse.
Quinz should strip a lot fitter after his seasonal bow, when he was never really given a hard time before being pulled up. The weight he receives could be a big help and there shouldn't be much between them at the line - Bostons Angel never has been the sort to win by big margins, with 5/8 rules race wins being less than a length, with a 5l, 7l and 2l win too.
Interestingly, Quinz is rated higher than BA on both official and RP ratings, although not a massive factor, still something to consider.
Royal Charm has been progressive for the Nicholls team, but even with a 4lb pull he still looks to need to find a lot of improvement to win this. Has a couple of easy wins at Exeter to his name followed by a thrashing from Wishful Thinking and Medermet at Aintree in April.
Can see Bostons and Quinz fighting out the fnish, while there could also be a race for third. Depends if Royal Charm has improved enough over the summer to trouble them. If not he may be in a fight with the reliable Benbane Head and Golan Way, who won a couple of decent novice hurdles and was only 3l behind Quito De La Roque and another subsequent winner at Aintree.
