TRAINER Lawrie Fownes is top dog at the moment and it could be well worth siding with the trainers' championship leader in the second leg of the Double Trio at Happy Valley tonight where he saddles long-time stable inmate Mehboob II.
This Class Six short sprint is a predictably shoddy-looking affair with some very dubious performers involved but Mehboob II is nothing if not honest.
He is a Class Five galloper allowed to compete in the lowest grade and Fownes has declared his stable claimer Richard K.M. So which will bring considerable relief in the weight department.
Against a field where there are no noticeable 975-metre specialists, young So could get Mehboob II away from his rails draw and have him in the firing line early.
Other speedy types are drawn further out, notably the John Moore-trained Shun Wah Treasure who has, predictably enough, been blazing along at the track. But he finds little when the pressure is applied.
Viva St Paul's came off a near bottom rating last season to win twice in Class Six but his big efforts have come on the synthetic surface. However, back in this bottom grade he must be conceded a chance and he will jump from the middle of the field of 10.
Even if Mehboob II does not jump on terms but can take a ''sit'' behind a couple of more pacy types he could easily gain the upper hand in the run home.
