Sugapiehoneybunch   –  5.15   Thirsk   –   1m  4F   Handicap   –   50/1   Coral,   Boyles,  Bet365  –  BOG  –  4Â
places  –  1.5  Points  each Â
way  –  LVP  20/1Â
I put up Sugarpiehoneybunch last year and she stayed on over 1m 2F to finish 3rd for us atÂ
50/1.Â
See my write-up in ITALICS below for the run which gets plenty of pertinent information forÂ
today.Â
She didn’t progress the next time out but was coughing after that run and wasn’t seen againÂ
last season.Â
This season she has run twice without success, but coming from a small yard they seem toÂ
be
happy to get her race fit on the track. The first was without her normal cheekpieces, thenÂ
her latest was over 2 miles which was probably too far at this stage of the season.Â
However both those runs will have helped her fitness/conditioning, and I like that they bringÂ
her back for her first attempt at 1m 4F which could end up being her optimum trip. Â
Today she runs back on turf on soft going, Initially, I was a little surprised as she had
shownÂ
improved form on all-weather. But looking back at her previous turf form as a backward sortÂ
(over unsuitably shorter trips) her best runs were when the ground was soft.Â
So she looks really interesting today, running off that basement handicap mark with theÂ
decent Graham Lee jocked up and the cheekpieces retained.
The 50/1 price looks huge for her chances, so I’m recommending 1.5 points each way.
Sugapiehoneybunch   –   6.00   Newcastle   –   1m   2F   Handicap   –   50/1   Coral,   Boyles,   Bet365   (bestÂ
priced  66/1)  –  BOG  –  4  places  -  1  Point  each  way.Â
The four-year-old filly Sugapiehoneybunch
went in my tracker as a potential improver whenÂ
stepped up to longer trips.Â
She has shown hints of ability at a modest level but very much shaped like needing further onÂ
her two starts at Newcastle over 7F and then at a mile.Â
Her breeding has a mixed look to it, some of her relatives have proved to be speedy, but theÂ
dam was a 1m 4F – 1m6F performer, and whilst she was bred with a more precocious
sireÂ
(Fast Company - 7F winner at two and second in 7F Dewhurst at three ), it looks like she isÂ
taking more after her mum.Â
Connections have run her primarily over 7F as a two and three-year-old where she has beenÂ
staying on, and her new trainer Simon West has tried her at 1 mile with hints that she wantsÂ
further.Â
She is modest, and they tried her in cheekpieces which suggests she hasn’t been
putting it inÂ
fully on the track, and these are on today for her first try at 1m 2FÂ
I think she is well worth a go at the trip, especially as an older horse, and it could easily bringÂ
out a small improvement that could put her in with a chance today.Â
Her first two runs this season have been with a 7lb claimer who has yet to win in a race andÂ
is just gaining experience herself, so these look like conditioning runs and
there was very littleÂ
assistance from the saddle.Â
Today is a different story as young Aiden Brookes takes the ride, who is a decent 7lb claimer,Â
with 10 wins and an 8% strike rate  He has won at Newcastle and has plenty of experience onÂ
the all-weather, so I’m happy we will get a decent ride.Â
From a handicapping perspective, Sugarpiehoneybunch has postmarked a high of  58, withÂ
multiple runs
in the mid-50s. Today she runs off 46, and with Aiden’s 7lb claim runs off a netÂ
39.Â
I’m not suggesting she is a good thing but she has been getting outpaced over shorter, andÂ
this 1m 2F will certainly help.Â
If the cheekpieces help her focus and more importantly, Aiden puts her in the race, then sheÂ
could win this.Â
At 50/1 we are getting the right odds to find out, so I’m recommending 1 point each
way.Â
She is still value at 25/1.Â