Horses In Focus

Horses in Focus / Timeform / 07 January 2010 / Leave a comment

National Hunt racing has been as good as wiped out since Christmas, but it's not all doom and gloom, Timeform all-weather reporter Dominic Finn has identified a couple of Flat handicappers that have caught the eye in the last week or so.

"It could be a while before the handicapper gets hold of him."

Orangeleg managed to land a big gamble on his handicap debut at Brighton back in June off a mark of only 46, and though a slightly disappointing favourite at the same course next time, he made amends at Lingfield last month with a degree of comfort. Following a four-and-half-month break Stuart Williams' four-year-old swept through in impressive fashion to beat Hart of Gold by two and a quarter lengths on his polytrack debut, looking some way ahead of his mark of 52 in the process. It could be a while before the handicapper gets hold of him.

Only A Game enhanced his good record at Lingfield when winning a handicap there last month by three quarters of a length from The Name Is Frank. He had a bit in hand then and was unlucky not to gain back-to-back wins over course and distance when fourth on Saturday, looking ready to deliver a winning run but forced to wait for a gap and having little time to recover. Only A Game was going on strongly at the finish and he won't be long in gaining compensation, especially under similar conditions.