8:05 – Ripon – SIS LIVE HANDICAP (CLASS 4) (3yo+ 0-85) Good To Soft 2m
Choisan drops down from Class 2 into Class 4 this evening and appears to have been well placed by his wily old trainer as the 3 year old bay gelding gets in off second bottom weight. Not unusually for a Tim Easterby trained horse Choisan already has plenty of miles on the clock. He ran 10 times at a 2 year old winning on his last appearance of the season at Musselburgh. He has already run 7 times this season, but to be fair seems to take to his racing well and he has shown a real upturn in form over the last couple of months.
Although he has only won twice in his 17 starts, on his last four runs his worst placing has been 4th and he won at Ripon over 1 mile 4 furlongs in June. His upturn in form coincides with running over a longer trip. He started off the season running over 1 mile before being stepped up to 1 mile 4 furlongs on his last 5 runs. He runs over 2 miles for the first time this evening so it remains to be seen if he will stay over the longer trip. His is by the Australian sprinter Choisir who perhaps rather bizarrely has a decent strike rate with his progeny over trips around 2 miles. There is also some evidence of stamina on his dams side. Choisan has also hinted that he could get a longer trip as in three of his runs over 1 mile 4 furlongs he has been staying on at the finish.
The going at Ripon is Good to Soft and Choisan’s two wins have come in Good ground and Soft going so underfoot conditions should be ideal for his this evening. As has been mentioned in previous columns, Ripon is a quirky track with strange undulations and it is always good to see that a selection has previous course form. Choisan has run here three times, winning once and finishing 2nd on another run – both this season – so does act on the track.
With his yard in reasonable form and the horse himself also going well, a decent run can be anticipated this evening. Although he is up in trip Choisan is running off a mark towards the foot of the handicap because of his weight for age allowance. In ground with some cut in it running over such a long trip his low weight should be a definite asset.
