Features / Timeform / 23 September 2010 / Leave a comment Free £25 Bet

Two horses that have recently caught the eye of Timeform's reporters...

"she certainly shaped as if well capable of winning from her current mark of 69"

Willow Dancer was out of form earlier in the spring, but looks to have benefited from a summer break on the evidence of his latest run at Leicester. Walter Swinburn's gelding had looked in need of the run on his previous start at Sandown, showing up well for a long way before getting weary in the latter stages. He duly built on that when second at Leicester, putting up his best performance of the season by some margin. Always close up, he looked to have got the upper hand inside the final furlong, only to be headed in the last strides by Tevez, a horse who has reached a new level in cheekpieces lately. Willow Dancer has come down a long way in the weights since his last win at the end of 2008, and he looks set to return to the winners' enclosure some time soon.

On the face of it, the Tim Easterby-trained three-year-old Offspring hasn't gone on from her Ripon win in July, but her latest effort, in a competitive handicap at Pontefract, was a lot more encouraging than the bare facts suggest. She suffered a troubled passage in a messy race at Pontefract, held up and travelling as well as any on the turn, but persistently hampered in the straight and shuffled back to an impossible position 1f out. Her jockey accepted the situation, merely hand-riding when finally in the clear, and Offspring ended up around seven lengths behind the winner, finishing with loads more to give. It's hard to say just how close she would have finished with a clear run, but she certainly shaped as if well capable of winning from her current mark of 69. She is one to follow for the remainder of the season and beyond.

Tags: Offspring, Timeform, Willow Dancer