4:30 – Bangor-on-Dee – PADDOCK RESTAURANT STANDARD OPEN NATIONAL HUNT FLAT RACE (CLASS 6) (4-6yo) Good To Soft 2m1f
Donald McCain trains at Cholmondeley in Cheshire and Bangor-on-Dee is his local course. He loves sending runners to the course as can be witnessed by the fact that he has had over 300 runners at Bangor over the last 5 seasons. Perhaps unsurprisingly therefore, he has a decent winning record here when his horses contest National Hunt Flat races at the course. In fact over the last 5 seasons he has saddled 7 winners from 37 runners at the course. On a day when the two low grade back end flat meetings at Leicester and Redcar are being run on Soft and Heavy ground respectively it is perhaps a good time to look for different selection angle.
Clondaw Draft runs for the McCain yard in the Bumper at Bangor this afternoon and although he is making his debut under rules today there are a few pointers to his chances of winning. The 4 year old bay gelding was purchased at Brightwells April Sale at Cheltenham in April for an eye catching £85,000 by Tim Leslie who owns such horses as Overturn and Peddlers Cross.
Clondaw Draft is by Shantou who has only had ten of his progeny representing him in the National Hunt arena. However, of his 10 runners no fewer than 6 of them won on their racecourse debuts. He is out of a mare called Glen Ten and she has produced three foals, including Just Friends who has won four races and also won on his racecourse debut. Glen Ten herself was sired by Mandalus who was a prolific jumps sire who produced amongst others the very smart Sir Rembrandt.
The going at Bangor is Good to Soft and Shantou’s offspring do go in the ground. Clondaw Draft himself has run in Yielding ground on his one start in Irish Point to Point races – which he won. Yielding ground is slightly softer than Good to Soft in the UK which suggests that the going for Clondaw Draft should be fine today.
He is ridden by Henry Brooke who as a Claiming jockey takes 3lbs off Clondaw Draft this afternoon. Henry is in excellent form at the moment having ridden 5 winners from 15 rides in the last 14 days. He also has a good long term strike rate riding for Donald McCain with 38 winners from 164 runners, including 7 winners from 19 runners in bumpers with one of his winners coming from three rides in bumpers at Bangor.
Clondaw Draft is clearly a highly speculative suggestion as we have no real form to go on. However, there is plenty of ‘circumstantial evidence’ to suggest that he should go well today. He is clearly expected to be a very good prospect judging by the price that was paid for him and the fact that six of his half siblings won on their racecourse debut is intriguing. Add to this Donald McCain’s overall strike rate at the track with his runners in bumpers and a small wager may be in order.
