25th Feb 2012 | Horse Racing
Royal Bajan Leading From The Front
A one-dimensional speedball but likely to get an easy lead and could prove hard to catch.
How the pace of a race develops is a crucial factor when trying to find the winner. In the 5.05 Lingfield we have one of those occasions when a front-runner has the race all to themselves.
Royal Bajan is a one-dimensional speedball. He has tremendous gate speed and when given a soft lead he is a useful performer, he has won 4 out of 8 starts on the all-weather. But if he is hassled upfront, he tends to curl up and fade.
Today’s class 4 contest is probably the ceiling of his ability but all his opponents are what I would call deep closers. These horses have to be held-up at the back of the pack before displaying a strong finish.
If none of the jockeys take on Royal Bajan, and their horses won’t let them anyway, Freddie Tylicki could build an early lead that is impossible to close.
The only horse that could scupper this plan is Berberana. She can be sluggish out of the stalls but she does possess good early speed. But on her first start in 131 days and racing for a new yard from a wide draw, there are enough reasons to suspect she won’t be at her sharpest.
We will know our fate immediately after the start, but if Royal Bajan can get that early lead, he will be hard to peg back at 5/1 with BetVictor.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 08:58 25th Feb, 2012 but subject to change