Mark Wallis is hoping that a disappointing year can end on a high with a second consecutive Coral TV Trophy victory.
Despite an industry wide shortage of marathon races, the three heats of the 945 metre event absolutely bristled with quality and the highlight was the much awaited ‘match’ between Wallis’ Aayamza Royale and the enigmatic beaten St.Leger favourite Roxholme Kristof.
This is how it unfolded:
The opening qualifier had gone the way of Simon Harms’ Droopys Bird in a much slower 59.00
While the second qualifier went to Tony Gifkins’ puppy, Redzer Renae
Half the final field are Henlow based including two runners for Mark Wallis, who will be hoping to emulate last year’s forecast of Bumblebee Bullet and Aayamza Breeze. Who could begrudge the ‘Aayamza boys’ a victory. So how does Royale’s trainer see the betting shaping up?
He said: “It’s a classic. I thought last year’s final was exceptional, in addition to our pair, there were two exceptional finalists in Riverside Honey and Savana Winner. But this year’s looks at least as good. Personally, I see it as even money each of two, Royale and Kristof, then 10-1 bar the pair. But what does that say about the likes of Micks Little Gem and Antigua Fire? They will probably never be prices like that again in the rest of their careers.
“I thought the heat was made to suit Royale, to break like she did, and then have one to chase. It brings out the best in her. If you look at Kristof’s sectional (28.18), it was just incredible (the track record for the defunct 490m course was Trade Fudge’s 28.24). There was less than two lengths between them at the winning line. If Royale doesn’t get such a clear run in the final, that two lengths is gone. But then, Kristof also took a flyer, and as we saw in the Leger Final, he can miss it too.
“But despite the prices, it is still very open in my book. It might be a marathon, but that first 100 yards could make all the difference. Would anybody fancy picking up Micks Little Gem if she popped out and found herself clear? Droopys Bird won the Kent St.Leger, so how would she be out of it? As for Antigua Fire, he has a lot of time to find but he would knock some big lumps out of that if he were to break better.
“He is on his way back after injury and the older dogs take longer to retain full fitness. Even though he is in his twilight years, he should improve for the run and he has been running in the very top company for the last two and a half years.”
Bet365 betting: 10-11 Aayamza Royale, 11-10 Roxholme Kristof, 12-1 Micks Little Gem, 14-1 Redzer Renae, 20-1 Antigua Fire, 40-1 Droopys Bird
