Less than 18 months ago, Italian Tom (13:20 Catterick) was in the form of his life, winning three handicaps in little over a month, the last from a BHA mark of 82. Now back down to 73, which incidentally was the mark he won the first of those three races from, Italian Tom has come back to near that level on his last two starts, placing in heavy-ground events at Sandown and Yarmouth. Turned out quickly to beat the expected rise for Yarmouth, where he lost by a nose and should have won, Italian Tom can get his just rewards for a good recent spell.
The seven-furlong nursery at Yarmouth (14:40) is a competitive race of its type, which perhaps gives some explanation as to why Shyron has been overlooked by the market. This George Margarson-trained gelding has improved essentially by the run through his six-start career to date, winning a couple of nurseries at Wolverhampton before finishing third last time. That latest run still represented a career-best, while the bare figures tell only half the story: slowly away (admittedly not for the first time), Shyron was left a hopeless task made even more so by twice meeting with interference, nevertheless beaten only two and a half lengths in third. Although 5-lb higher than then as a result of previous wins catching up with him, it's expected that Shyron will take another step forward with Tom Queally regaining the ride from 7-lb claimer Jordan Vaughan.
We return to Catterick for our final selection, which runs over its notoriously sharp five-furlong course at 15:50. Coalburn didn't get home ridden aggressively over six furlongs at Brighton last time, but before that he put up a career-best effort on heavy ground at Ffos Las, which is another five-furlong course that seems to favour handy types. Handed a plum draw today, he can get back to winning ways under conditions that evidently suit.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
Back Italian Tom @ 3.6553/20 in the 13:20 Catterick
Back Shyron @ 11.521/2 in the 14:40 Yarmouth
Back Coalburn @ 5.49/2 in the 15:50 Catterick
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