Strike Up The Band can hit the right note for North Yorkshire trainer Dandy Nicholls at Goodwood tomorrow.
The speedy juvenile, an impressive winner on his debut at Pontefract, but a luckless runner-up at Chester on his latest start, goes for the £25,000 Baker Tilly Trophy. Adrian Nicholls, the trainer's son, will once again be in the saddle.
Strike Up The Band, a wide-margin winner at Pontefract, was solidly supported to follow-up at Chester but the short-priced favourite met trouble in running on that tight track and had to switch wide to gain a clear passage.
Despite having the pace to overtake all of his rivals entering the final furlong, those exertions took their toll and he was nailed near the finish by Ooh Aah Camara.
The fast Goodwood course should play to the strengths of Strike Up The Band, who is napped to make his long journey from Nicholls' Sessay yard well worthwhile.
Unfurled, a ten-length winner on this course last month, steps-up in class in the Letheby & Christopher Predominate Stakes and can triumph in the hands of Richard Quinn.
The John Dunlop-trained colt, a Derby entry, left Glistening for dead on his latest outing. The runner-up, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, paid that form a compliment by winning at Thirsk last Saturday.
Clearly a talented three-year-old, Unfurled is fancied to cope with this graduation to Group 3 company in a race traditionally used as a stepping-stone to the Derby.
Wednesday's tips:
Goodwood
2.10 Notnowcato, 2.40 Unfurled, 3.15 Something Exciting, 3.45 Strike Up The Band (Nap), 4.20 Wingspeed, 4.55 Eden Rock, 5.30 Cd Flyer.
Kelso
2.30 Lawgiver, 3.05 Isard lll, 3.35 Yes Sir, 4.10 Enzo de Baune, 4.45 Jordan's Ridge, 5.20 Emperor Ross.
Tomorrow's other race meetings are at: Folkestone (evening, Flat), Sedgefield (evening, National Hunt) and Southwell (afternoon, Flat, on all-weather track).
Updated: 10:51 Tuesday, May 17, 2005
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