Sky Bet Melrose Handicap (Heritage Handicap)

York

14:25

Date 2023-08-26

Distance 1m5f188y

Class Class 2

Going Good To Firm

Type Flat

Surface Turf

Age Band 3yo

Prize £87,618

Winning Time 2m 56.63s (slow by 0.03s)

Result

Pos	Horse	SP	Btn
1st	Middle Earth (GB) Oisin Murphy · John & Thady Gosden	9/2J	Won
2nd	Denmark (GB) Ryan Moore · A P O'Brien	10/1	1.75
3rd	Fox Journey (GB) William Buick · Sir Michael Stoute	11/1	3.25
4th	Lordship (GER) Tom Marquand · William Haggas	9/2J	0.05
5th	Alhambra Palace (GB) Adam Farragher · William Haggas	13/2	1
6th	The Goat (GB) Jason Watson · Andrew Balding	15/2	2.5
7th	Vaguely Royal (IRE) Robert Havlin · John & Thady Gosden	12/1	2.25
8th	True Legend (IRE) Hollie Doyle · Sir Mark Prescott Bt	17/2	1.25
9th	Edge Of Darkness (IRE) Jason Hart · Charlie Johnston	40/1	1.5
10th	Golden Move (GB) Cam Hardie · Richard Fahey	28/1	.5
11th	Goldenstatewarrior (IRE) Kaiya Fraser · Harry Eustace	33/1	0.3
12th	Chillhi (IRE) Connor Beasley · Brian Ellison	28/1	5.5
13th	Davideo (GB) Frankie Dettori · Ralph Beckett	15/2	.5

Runners (13)

EW Terms: 3 places, ¼ odds (standard bookmaker terms — may vary)

#	Horse	Jockey / Trainer	Wt	Gear	Form	OR	RPR	TS	Last	Crs	Dst	Val	Scr	EW	Odds
4 (2)	Lordship Chestnut J:Tom Marquand T:William Haggas	J:Tom Marquand T:William Haggas	130	—	-22111	94	107	98	49d	—	—	+23	40.5	0.75/1	4 25%
Shooting up the weights but highly progressive; trainer has won two of last four runnings
5 (9)	Middle Earth Bay J:Oisin Murphy T:John & Thady Gosden	J:Oisin Murphy T:John & Thady Gosden	129	—	221	93	106	87	29d	—	—	+16	31.2	1.13/1	9/2 18%
Won 1m4f novice at Newmarket last time and open to further improvement at this longer trip
1 (5)	Davideo Bay J:Frankie Dettori T:Ralph Beckett	J:Frankie Dettori T:Ralph Beckett	135	—	02-101	99	108	84	42d	—	—	+5	14.9	1.88/1	15/2 12%
Latest Newmarket win came in small field but the form has worked out well
6 (6)	The Goat Chestnut J:Jason Watson T:Andrew Balding	J:Jason Watson T:Andrew Balding	129	—	32-631	93	111	96	24d	—	—	+4	13.4	2.13/1	17/2 11%
His impressive Glorious Goodwood win came on soft ground but he's respected nevertheless
13 (11)	Alhambra Palace Bay J:Adam Farragher(3) T:William Haggas	J:Adam Farragher(3) T:William Haggas	115	—	-64211	79	110	85	24d	—	—	+20	29.4	1.88/1	15/2 12%
Smooth-travelling wins the last twice and he could have more left in the tank
9 (12)	True Legend Bay J:Hollie Doyle T:Sir Mark Prescott Bt	J:Hollie Doyle T:Sir Mark Prescott Bt	121	p	116512	85	115	88	22d	—	—	+17	25.1	2.00/1	9 11%
Runner-up at Glorious Goodwood despite torrid passage and he's firmly in calculations
3 (7)	Denmark Bay J:Ryan Moore T:A P Obrien	J:Ryan Moore T:A P Obrien	133	b	12-5	97	109	84	146d	—	—	+6	13.9	2.25/1	10 10%
Only 5th in Ballysax on sole 2023 run but retains potential for top yard now up in trip
7 (4)	Fox Journey Grey J:William Buick T:Sir Michael Stoute	J:William Buick T:Sir Michael Stoute	126	—	-16413	90	109	103	24d	—	—	+17	23.9	2.75/1	12 8%
Won at Newbury and had soft-ground excuse at Goodwood; the step up in trip could be a plus
8 (13)	Vaguely Royal Brown J:Robert Havlin T:John & Thady Gosden	J:Robert Havlin T:John & Thady Gosden	123	—	3-221	87	107	85	69d	—	—	+7	13.1	3.00/1	12/1 8%
Gelded since winning Doncaster maiden in June; has potential now moving into handicaps
12 (3)	Golden Move Bay J:Cam Hardie T:Richard Fahey	J:Cam Hardie T:Richard Fahey	118	—	6-2416	82	112	80	14d	—	—	+6	8.9	5.25/1	22 5%
Making good late headway when hampered at Shergar Cup and he's an interesting candidate
2 (1)	Goldenstatewarrior Brown J:Kaiya Fraser(5) T:Harry Eustace	J:Kaiya Fraser(5) T:Harry Eustace	134	—	154	98	105	70	92d	—	—	+15	17.8	8.00/1	33 3%
Displayed staying potential when fourth of six in 1m3f Listed race; not ruled out
10 (10)	Edge Of Darkness Chestnut J:Jason Hart T:Charlie Johnston	J:Jason Hart T:Charlie Johnston	120	—	3-6111	84	113	72	14d	—	—	+9	11.2	9.75/1	40 3%
Has won Class 5 handicaps the last twice; up in grade here but he's improving fast
11 (8)	Chillhi Bay J:Connor Beasley T:Brian Ellison	J:Connor Beasley T:Brian Ellison	120	—	-75354	84	109	90	28d	—	—	+8	10.8	7.00/1	28/1 3%
Some fair efforts in handicaps this season but he's 0-5 this year and vulnerable once more

Horse	bet365	William Hill	Unibet	Boyle Sports	Ladbrokes
Lordship	4	4	4	4	4
Middle Earth	4	9/2	9/2	9/2	9/2
Davideo	15/2	7	15/2	7	7
The Goat	8	8	8	8	17/2
Alhambra Palace	8	15/2	15/2	15/2	15/2
True Legend	9	9	9	9	9
Denmark	10	10	10	10	9
Fox Journey	12	12	12	12	12
Vaguely Royal	12	12/1	12	12	12
Golden Move	22	22	22	22	22
Goldenstatewarrior	33	33	33	33	33
Edge Of Darkness	40	33	40	40	33
Chillhi	28/1	28	28	28	28

Predictor

Scored on Official Rating (max 30), Recent Form (max 25), and Market Odds (max 20). Max score: 75.

1st

Lordship

40.5

OR: 11 Form: 24.5 Odds: 5

2nd

Middle Earth

31.2

OR: 10.8 Form: 16 Odds: 4.4

9/2

3rd

Alhambra Palace

29.4

OR: 7.3 Form: 19.5 Odds: 2.7

15/2

True Legend

25.1

OR: 8.8 Form: 14 Odds: 2.4

Fox Journey

23.9

OR: 10 Form: 12 Odds: 1.9

Goldenstatewarrior

17.8

OR: 12 Form: 5 Odds: 0.8

Davideo

14.9

OR: 12.3 Form: 0 Odds: 2.7

15/2

Denmark

13.9

OR: 11.8 Form: 0 Odds: 2.1

The Goat

13.4

OR: 10.8 Form: 0 Odds: 2.7

17/2

Vaguely Royal

13.1

OR: 9.3 Form: 2.1 Odds: 1.7

12/1

Edge Of Darkness

11.2

OR: 8.5 Form: 2.1 Odds: 0.6

Chillhi

10.8

OR: 8.5 Form: 1.5 Odds: 0.8

28/1

Golden Move

8.9

OR: 8 Form: 0 Odds: 0.9

Ratings

Horse	OR	RPR	TS
Davideo	99	108	84
Goldenstatewarrior	98	105	70
Denmark	97	109	84
Lordship	94	107	98
Middle Earth	93	106	87
The Goat	93	111	96
Fox Journey	90	109	103
Vaguely Royal	87	107	85
True Legend	85	115	88
Edge Of Darkness	84	113	72
Chillhi	84	109	90
Golden Move	82	112	80
Alhambra Palace	79	110	85

Last Run

Horse	Last Run	Status
Golden Move	14d ago	Fit
Edge Of Darkness	14d ago	Fit
True Legend	22d ago	Fit
The Goat	24d ago	Fit
Alhambra Palace	24d ago	Fit
Fox Journey	24d ago	Fit
Chillhi	28d ago	Fit
Middle Earth	29d ago	Fit
Davideo	42d ago	Fit
Lordship	49d ago	Fresh
Vaguely Royal	69d ago	Fresh
Goldenstatewarrior	92d ago	Long break
Denmark	146d ago	Long break