A drop back in trip and the application of some headgear could make all the difference for Never Cry Never at Dundalk on Wednesday.
The son of No Nay Never ran over seven on his all-weather debut here a fortnight ago and didn’t help himself by hanging across the track in the closing stages.
Having made the running then, and shown plenty of pace, he veered left over a furlong from home and was soon headed.
To be fair he stuck on well enough in the final furlong despite continuing to hang and wasn’t beaten far in fifth behind Pier Pressure.
Dropping back to six furlongs looks like it could be his ideal trip and cheekpieces now should help to straighten him up.
The booking of Colin Keane is obviously also a big eyecatcher. The champion jockey has only had a handful of rides for trainer ‘Fozzy’ Stack, with one previous winner.
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Cross Border looks like the main danger in the race and deserves to be a big player.
He lost out by just a neck to Bold Optimist here last month and has now been placed in three of his five outings.
First Gentleman could be given a chance on his best form but has become frustrating while the 67-rated Reinforce is another that comes into calculations.
Never Cry Never is still unexposed though and this looks like a nice chance to get his head in front.
The opening two-year-old maiden doesn’t look like a particularly strong event and Tiger King is the pick after a nice run here last time.
Richard O’Brien’s charge stepped forward from his debut when fourth to Cash Collector in a better maiden here last week.
He was still green then on his second outing, running around when challenging at the furlong pole, and there looks scope for further improvement.
Michael Halford and Tracey Collins have been in fine form at the venue recently and Kampala Beach may be able to give them another winner in the first division of the 10-furlong handicap.
The Belardo gelding was sent off a solid favourite on his return to the all-weather last month and ran a decent race to finish third to Mpex Kid.
He was a course and distance winner last year and there looks to be another win in him off his current mark.
SELECTIONS
1.45 Tiger King (Dbl)
2.20 Irish Rumour
2.55 Gobi Star
3.30 Dream Ticket
4.05 Never Cry Never (Nap)
4.40 Skontonovski
5.15 Kampala Beach
5.45 Old Peculier
