Bold Win is on the cards for veteran

VETERAN Bold Win (Nap) can strike a blow for the older brigade in the second event at Happy Valley tonight where he looks ideally placed to break through.

Bold Win resumed after a long break and took part in a very hot short sprint on the equitrack surface on March 31 where he found Third Time Lucky and Lucky Champ much too sharp.

Bold Win, not bustled up early on that occasion and midfield for most of the trip, came home quite well to finish a creditable third to the David Oughton-trained sprinter.

There was just over three lengths from first to third and the run will clearly have brought Bold Win up to peak condition for tonight's tilt at the money.

This is really a much easier race than his previous outing where the two that beat him both had top-drawer equitrack form while in tonight's second event only out-of-sorts Hammerhead has shown the required pace over this trip. But that now seems to have been in a previous incarnation.

Bold Win has drawn seven in the field of eight and is unlikely to bounce to the front. However, he should be able to get across and if he is not standing up the leader by more than three lengths as they swing for home, he is the one to be on.

Precious Delights is the obvious danger and he is only a four-year-old as opposed to Bold Win's stately nine years. He ran a good third to Smart Runner and Orchestra at his last start over this trip and the form is good enough to take into this event. Thequinella looks totally logical.

Top News tends to go round in just about anything but he did run a fading fourth over this trip three starts back before being switched to more suitable trips over 1,400 metres and a mile where his front-running tactics can be effective. It is not quite so easy to dictate from in front over the equitrack scamper.

Patrick Biancone has elected to take a voluntary promotion with Goldchin Champ and the four-year-old ran an encouraging race in fair company last time over the longer Sha Tin sprint.