Newmarket Abernant Tip: Poet’s Place

The 3.35 at Newmarket is a decent little sprint but nothing stands out as top class on past form. The majority of these horses are exposed and only Prime Defender has a Group victory to his name. In this type of race you need to be taking a chance on something more unexposed, in the hope it turns out to be better than the rest.

Of the horses that fit the profile, Dinkum Diamond can be thrown out. Only three years old, he will need to be something special to beat his elders. He is not. There are huge doubts whether a step up in trip will help him, or if he has improved from two to three.

Next up is Society Rock. He ran a blinder in the Golden Jubilee, ran ok in the July Cup, and that was the last we saw of him. If he retains his sparkle then he could make everyone look foolish, but 4/1 after a 279-day lay off is terrible value. That leaves us with two.

Inler is an interesting horse. He spent most of last year underachieving; until at the end of the season he fulfilled his promise with a win at Doncaster. Brian Meehan seems to have brought the best out of him and all the noises coming from the yard are positive. The problem with the horse is his price. At 15/2 you are taking skinny odds for a horse who has only won a maiden and a conditions event. He is begrudgingly passed over.

By a process of elimination, that leaves us with Poet’s Place. For a six year old he has remarkably few miles on the clock, only seeing a track in his last week as a four year old. Since then he has been on a dramatic upward curve, culminating with victory in the Portland. Worth almost £50,000 to the winner, those heritage handicaps can be more valuable than Group races; with the quality of horses contesting them comparable to the field today.

Under the careful eye of David Barron, you can expect he has kept on improving through the winter. At 20/1 he doesn’t have to find much improvement to win a race such as the Abernant.