Unfortunately the forecast rain never materialised at York for Master Carpenter so he does not take his chance at the Knavesmire this afternoon. However, we still have Master Grey at Sandown and Stevee at Chepstow, both of whom were legs of our Salisbury double back in April.
MASTER GREY – Sandown RUK 5:25
A lovely looking son of Mastercraftsman who has not really produced what we were hoping for on the track so far, although in his defence, it may be that he needs an extreme stamina test to be seen at his best. He won well in a three-runner race over 1m6f at Salisbury on heavy ground and found the drop back to 1m4f all against him last time. While the ground is quick enough, it was good to see him stay on in the final furlong last time out and the step back up to 1m6f, especially with Sandown’s stiff finish should see him in a better light this afternoon.
STEVEE – Chepstow 6:25 ATR
Made a promising debut on fast ground when staying on strongly to finish third at Bath and subsequently improved on that to win his second start at Salisbury. There he won despite the very heavy ground, his superior stamina coming into play inside the final furlong. You can draw a line through his last run in a very strong race at Newbury as although he may have been outclassed, race was not run to suit. He drops in grade today and while he has a 6lb penalty for that Salisbury win, Jason Watson’s five pound claim offsets that and it does not look a particularly strong race this evening.