Win with Jebal Suraaj at Windsor

LONDON: After the excitement of the Martell Cognac Grand National it’s back to the regular fare of Flat racing today and Windsor stages the day’s feature meeting where Jebal Suraaj looks the pick to land the Altwood Windsor BMW Maiden Stakes.

Mark Johnston’s charge looked a sure fire winner of the future following a pleasing debut second to the more experienced Anani in a nine runner event at Ascot last week. The subject of good gallops reports, the colt broke well and soon took the lead. Although the victor grabbed the lead a furlong out, Jebal Suraaj stuck to his task well as he plugged on for the runner up spot. That performance augured well for the future and he should lose that maiden tag here before going on to better things. Another making a long journey from the north of England is the treble seeking King’s Thought.

The King’s Theatre colt loves nothing better than to bowl along in front and saying ‘catch me if you can’. Those tactics have paid off twice on the all-weather with victories over Cut Rate by a neck and African Sahara by a length and a half at Lingfield. Steve Gollings obviously has his four-year-old in good heart and another positive show can be expected in the closing. At Southwell, Pheckless must have every chance of completing a double when he contests the Littlewoods Bet Direct Handicap. Fulke Johnson Houghton’s charge looked impressive under Steve Carson when denying Mush by a length and a half at Lingfield in February. The partnership look to have every chance of repeating the dose in today’s seven furlongs event.

Kelso stages the day’s jumping fare and the Pat De Clermont Handicap Chase (for the Scott Briggs Challenge Trophy) looks within the grasp of Nephite. The New Zealand-bred Star Way gelding loves nothing better than to lead from the front tactics that worked for him at Newcastle and Market Rasen last month. On the negative side, if the sound jumping nine-year-old is headed he tends to sulk as he showed at Huntingdon in between those two successes but Richard Guest has obviously got the key to his charge and he can lead them home in this two miles, one furlong contest.