Baltia makes a lot of appeal at 11-2 in the Welcome To Kenilworth Maiden at Kenilworth tomorrow, particularly as her recent home work has been good.
Although a four-year-old, she did not make her debut until four weeks ago when she started fourth favourite in a field of 18 and finished best of all to take third to Ngaga. Igugu’s half-sister has franked the form by winning again since.
Usually horses who do not run until they are four have had injury problems that can make them unreliable but there are grounds for believing that this won’t apply so much with Greg Cheyne’s mount.
“She was sore in a bone in her hind leg and the soreness wouldn’t go away,” explains Ridgemont manager Craig Carey. “Rather than resort to drugs, we left her alone on the farm and let her grow out of it.”
That ultra-patient policy could start paying dividends today because Brett Crawford, who took her over in July, reports: “She is working well and she looks as if she has come on.”
She will be opposed by eight of those that ran against her on debut including Class Protector (second), Dance At Dawn (fourth), Eternal Light (fifth), Dark Goddess (sixth) and Field Of Light (seventh).
The last-named is trained by Dennis Drier and has been backed from 11-2 to 9-2 favourite with World Sports Betting. She has two lengths to find with Baltia but she was forced to switch last time. However Baltia has an in-built three length advantage over most of the opposition because this is a level weights race and, as a four-year-old, she should be conceding 4kg under the weight-for-age scale.
Eternal Night (12-1) lost ground at the start when making her debut and was less than a length behind Baltia. “She is quite hot and she was pretty ready first time,” says Eric Sands. “She is not without a chance but she wants a lot further.”
Class Protector (10-1) was three-quarters of a length in front of Baltia but that was her fourth appearance so she has less scope for improvement. Dance At Dawn has gone on to finish second in a work riders’ and is a 10-1 chance.
Another to be wary of is 12-1 newcomer Love To Boogie. “She is quite classy and she has had enough work,” says Andre Nel. “But she holds her condition and is still fairly fat.”
Boldly Respectable, backed from 13-2 to 5-1 for race two, has since been scratched but this 1 400m handicap is wide open and you can make a case for almost all six runners. Brilliant Crimson, dropped a point since last time when he ran a bit below his best, gets only a tentative vote at 28-10.
Rubyana may confirm last month’s form with Jack And Jill in the 2 000m maiden. The Burger-Van Reenen partnership has four of the seven in the Racing Association Maiden but odds-on Sea Pass looks the one.
Michael Clower
