Lucky Loader’s NAP
8.17 Chelmsford – Fly Liberty Fly (6/1)
Fly Liberty Fly will be making her nursery debut tonight on what looks like a tempting mark of 58. Out of most of these in the field, her form is right up there. Her last run at Yarmouth, where she finished fifth, worked out well, and even her fourth at Nottingham looks fair form, as the first two in the race have won and placed in Group races. Moreover, her dam, Furlong Factor, was a good two-year-old for the same owners, and she improved with age. I think she’s found a good opportunity through connections to exploit her nursery mark in what looks like a weak race.
Lucky Loader’s Next Best
2.50 Catterick – John Kirkup EW (8/1)
John Kirkup hasn’t won for a while, but some of his efforts this season have suggested he is more than capable of winning a race of this nature. The nine-year-old gelding has been placed at Carlisle and Hamilton on his recent starts and wasn’t beaten that far against arguably better opposition. This race is a classified stakes race, so we’re in a low level of racing here, where he should be competitive. There is a bit of pace on upfront, so it could set up quite nicely for him to come from off the pace. I wouldn’t be disappointed if he couldn’t be in the frame.
Lucky Loader’s Longshot
7.47 Chelmsford – Solo Solitaire EW (10/1)
Mick Appleby’s horses have been in top form, and I think he could have a good night at Chelmsford with Solo Solitaire. The key to him running well could be the drop back to 7f, as he has often shown a lot of speed in his races and probably not quite seen out a mile as well as others. Two starts ago he ran well to finish third at Kempton, and a repeat of that effort would see him go close here. With a good draw in Stall 2 and first-time cheekpieces, I expect him to be ridden forward. The all-weather tracks have been favouring front runners recently due to the hot weather and the kickback, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that happened at Chelmsford.