Our horse racing tipster gives his best selections from all the action at Sandown Park and Goodwood on Friday, June 14.
Travolta (Sandown, 3:50pm)
Three-year-old gelding out of Lope De Vega, Travolta ran three times last year, finishing middle of the pack on each occasion. His best performance was at Newmarket, when trying to lead from the front he got passed with one furlong to go but stayed on well to finish within four lengths of Ancient Wisdom.
Clearly built for further distance, he improved when upped to 9.5f on reappearance two months ago, where, despite a slow start, he ran on well inside the final furlong to break his maiden tag.
He remains unexposed at this new distance entering a handicap for the first time and can continue his improvement to win again.
Sunfall (Sandown, 4:25pm)
Three-year-old filly Sunfall, from the Cheveley Park Stud, delivered a modest performance on debut in November, staying on for fourth after being held at the back.
She took a significant step forward second time out at Kempton in April however, forcing her way between rivals and taking the lead with a furlong left, staying on well to win impressively.
She can be forgiven her latest run at Newmarket last month, where she didn’t get the extra furlong and struggled with the track itself. Reverting back to 7f now, she can reproduce that Kempton performance to grab her second career win.
Hilltop (Goodwood, 7:15pm)
Well-bred three-year-old filly Hilltop hasn’t lived up to her pedigree so far. Sired by French Derby winner New Bay, she showed promise in her two runs at Wolverhampton, once at a mile and once at 6f. But connections have struggled to find what the best tactics and distance for her are.
She can be forgiven her last run at Salisbury three weeks ago, where the jockey tried to hold her up at the back but she was fairly keen throughout.
Despite that she seemed to have every chance when asked for an effort out wide but was obstructed and forced out further.
When she finally got clear she did make up ground to finish fifth, but was never in contention. Reverting to 6f and with Jim Crowley riding this time, she is worth giving another chance.
Enchanting (Goodwood, 7:50pm)
Three-year-old filly Enchanting, sired by multiple Group 1-winning sprinter Blue Point, duly showed her ability on her second start. Staying on well on heavy ground at Beverley, she comfortably defeated her rivals.
She’ll be hoping that the forecasted rain is fairly significant since she struggled with the fast going at York last month on her second start of the year.
However, she ran well at Epsom in good-to-soft conditions, coming fourth after being prominent throughout. This race is much easier and she has been eased a further pound in the handicap.
Therefore she is incredibly well-weighted and should be able to notch her second career win.
