He triumphed over this course and distance on soft last May, and now that he has dropped to a 6lb lower mark, he appears to be a real contender after finishing third at Redcar last month on a sound surface.
When FORWARD FLIGHT has a mile and soft ground, he often saves his finest performances for them, and both conditions are quite favorable for him at Yarmouth on Monday.
TIRIAC seemed deserving of another shot despite disappointing his supporters at Salisbury last month.
As a result of being 2lb well-in after finishing a neck behind Hierarchy at Goodwood, Tiriac was the market leader when that race took place. Although he finished fourth, beaten just over three lengths, his performance merits some further marks because of the bad draw he had.
He wasn’t disgraced and can get back on track here in first-time cheekpieces, with the soft ground certain to favor, since the low numbers were at a disadvantage on the soft ground that day as the race evolved further towards the spectators’ side.
Although Musselburgh’s track conditions are predicted to be much better, MUBHIJAH, who last month had her stable debut for Ed Walker in a Carlisle maiden, isn’t too concerned about the surface.
Although Mubhijah, who was trained by Roger Varian, had placed second five times, she wasn’t winning outright. However, she appeared to have turned a new leaf and is now being sent down the handicap route from a respectable mark of 78 (the horse she ran into at Chelmsford in May, Royal Dubai, is rated 90).
Last season, Richard Fahey’s ROCK OPERA was a very promising two-year-old, breaking his maiden at Hamilton and running well despite losing three other times. After just two races this season, there is little question that he still has potential.
He spent a considerable amount of time (419 days) off the track after being gelded, but he came back with a solid fourth-place finish on decent ground at Thirsk at the beginning of September before not seeming to enjoy the thick ground at Haydock the final time.
He had to move away from most of the action, which was taking place on the far side, suggesting that he was not in the optimum location on the track. With three all-weather champions in its lineage, rock opera is unquestionably one to pay attention to now that it has been moved to this surface.
