THE day before Peter Grayson enjoyed his biggest training success at Ascot with rank outsider Stoneacre Lad, another of his sprinters GARSTANG caught the eye at Newcastle.
He was only fourth to Sunrise Safari but after missing the break, he found himself short of room on the inside.
The one to take out of the six-furlong handicap at Newcastle was BARKASS, formerly trained by Marcus Tregoning, who was having his first run for Brian Ellison. Held up in last place, he belatedly made his move on the outside and it will come as a surprise if he doesn’t move up.
LADY ROCHBONNE showed blistering speed on the far side at Newcastle and looked the winner when clear over a furlong out, only to have no answer to the late flourish of Jim Martin. She can soon lose her maiden’s tag.
Making his seasonal reappearance, PHILHARMONIC ran well in defeat at York. He should come on for the outing and, as long as the ground is on the easy side, he should be making his mark in decent sprint handicaps.
This is the time of year for FANTASY BELIEVER who seems as good as ever despite his advancing years. John Quinn’s veteran was eating up the ground in the last furlong of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Sprint at Ascot and the handicapper has given him a chance.
