Talking Horses: Eye-catching Gubbass looks a good bet in Super Sprint

Richard Hannon Sr helped to devise the concept of Saturday’s Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury, in which runners get a weight based on their purchase price at auction with a 1lb allowance for every £5,000 below the £63,000 maximum.

The canny former champion went on to win it seven times and Richard Hannon Jr has landed three of the last seven, but it is more than just stable form which makes Gubbass (3.40) an interesting runner for this year’s renewal at around 11-2.

Gubbass, by the speedy Mehmas, was a very cosy winner on debut back in April, stopping the clock in an eye-catching time with a subsequent dual winner back in third.

Chipotle and Vintage Clarets are the obvious form horses based on their runs at Royal Ascot, but they are priced up accordingly and do not have the same scope for improvement.

Newbury 1.50 Real World put up one of the most dominant performances in a Royal Ascot handicap for many years in last month’s Hunt Cup and the visual impression of his four-and-three-quarter length success was backed up by the time. This Listed contest looks like the ideal next step.

Quick Guide

Greg Wood’s Saturday tips

Show

Market Rasen: 1.00 Dal Horrisgle. 1.30 Al Kherb, 2.05 Hang In There (nb), 2.40 Darling Maltaix, 3.10 Breaking Waves, 3.50 Saint De Reve, 4.22 Valseur Du Granval

Newbury: 1.15 Mystery Monarch, 1.50 Real World (nap), 2.25 Scaramanga, 3.00 Diligent Harry, 3.40 Gubbass, 4.10 Declared Interest, 4.45 Princess Nadia, 5.20 Foxtrot Sizzler

Newmarket: 1.40
 Value Theory, 2.15 World Of Windhover, 2.55 Beat Le Bon, 3.30 Golden Pass, 4.05 Prince Imperial, 4.40 Sweet Enough
5.15 Corvair

Cartmel: 1.55
 Bellaney Gem, 2.30 Iolani, 3.05 Native Fighter, 3.45 My Renaissance, 4.15 Authorizo, 4.50 Breaking The Ice, 5.25 Sarvi

Ripon: 2.45 Hollow Steel, 3.20 So Smart, 3.55 Sameem, 4.30 Harlem Soul, 5.05 Copper And Five, 5.40 Chase The Dollar, 6.10 Burscough

Doncaster: 6.00 Form Of Praise, 6.35 Moon Island, 7.05 Gifted Ruler, 7.35 Aerion Power, 8.05 Squelch, 8.35 Passional

Haydock Park: 6.20 Glen Esk, 6.50 Boudica Bay, 7.20 Get It, 7.50 Albahr, 8.20 Mobadra, 8.50 Under Fox

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Market Rasen 2.05 While his hurdling was a little sketchy at times, Hang In There still ran out a very easy winner at Stratford on Sunday and a 7lb penalty should be largely cancelled out by his conditional rider’s 10lb claim.

Newbury 2.25 Scaramanga rounded off the jumps season with two excellent wins in competitive handicap hurdles and he looks big at around 10-1 to carry that improvement back onto the Flat.

Market Rasen 2.40 An excellent renewal of the Summer Plate and only a handful can be ruled out with any confidence. Darling Maltaix is perhaps the pick of the prices at around 8-1, having looked much improved for a wind op when successful at Newton Abbot last time when running for the first time in 247 days.

source: theguardian.com