'I like him a lot, there could be more to come' - prolific Richard Hannon runs four in strong race for favourites

This must be one of the easiest races of the week to solve – three out of the last four favourites have won and the other was beaten only by the second favourite.

Two-year-old sales races can lack strength in depth. There is prize-money of £7,380 down to tenth place, so if you had paid your £450 to enter in January and £1,650 to stay in the race at three different scratching or confirmation stages, you are likely to declare and hope to pick up some cash, even if your hopes of success are remote.

The class juveniles are more likely to be in the Gimcrack and Lowther. Only one of the last ten winners achieved a Racing Post Rating above 102, which means a promising sort need not be a superstar to improve past those with more established form.

Only two of the last winners were top on RPRs, while four had between 10lb and 20lb to find before the race.

Persica is the shortest-priced contender for Richard Hannon, who has won the race five times in the last seven years, running 16 horses in total over that period.

The worry is the trainer runs four, and the only times he was represented by so many since 2016 were in 2018 and 2021, the two occasions when he failed to land the prize. 

Ziggy's Condor looked a colt of potentially the required quality when scoring readily for 2018 winner Richard Fahey on his debut at Pontefract, yet that was not a great race and this big field asks plenty of a once-raced runner with so little experience.

The way Dragon Leader defied a penalty to make it two from two at Salisbury a fortnight ago suggests he is tough enough for this battle.

And Twilight Romance has been aimed at this since a stylish success here in June and is easily forgiven a narrow defeat by a better-drawn winner at Pontefract.
Analysis by David Carr

What they say

Ed Bethell, trainer of Angel Of England
He has a 5lb penalty, which will make life tougher. We're looking forward to running him but it is a wide-open race. He's been in great form since winning his novice, but we're under no illusions as to how tough it'll be to win this with a penalty.

Adam Ryan, assistant to Kevin Ryan, trainer of We Never Stop and Vantheman
We Never Stop has improved from run to run and looks very progressive. He's definitely going the right way and I'd imagine he goes there with a live chance. Vantheman is going the right way too and definitely improved on the back of his first run. If he can continue improving hopefully he has a good chance. There is nothing to split our two runners

John Quinn, trainer of Twilight Romance
He has good course form. There are maybe a few with stronger recent form but we're very happy with him. Nice ground will suit and he goes there with a strong chance.

Clive Cox, trainer of Dragon Leader
He's two from two down at Salisbury and has progressed well. It'll be tough carrying the penalty but it's great to be in this race with a nice prize and an unbeaten record so far, let's hope we can keep it that way. I’m delighted Ryan Moore is able to ride him.

Hugo Palmer, trainer of Grey Cuban, Hackman and Master Franca
The horse [Angel Of England] who beat Grey Cuban at Nottingham but has to give him 5lb now and is considerably shorter in the betting. His future will be over 7f and a mile but he hasn't done a lot wrong over 6f and we'll try to take home as much prize-money as we can. Hackman is having his first try at six furlongs but seems in great form. We liked Master Franca a lot early on and I expect the six-week break and the gelding operation to bring about a lot of improvement.

Richard Hannon, trainer of Persica, Dapperling, Love Billy Boy and Gaiden
I like Persica a lot and was disappointed he didn’t win first time out, where he was very green before and during the race, so I backed him up quickly and he got the job done nicely at Salisbury. He won with plenty in hand that day and I think there could be more to come. Dapperling is very tough, consistent and warrants respect, and I was pleased with Love Billy Boy's work earlier in the week, he could run well at decent odds. Gaiden ran well in the Marygate at the track in May and as this is such a valuable pot it’s worth a crack.

Tim Palin, racing director of Middleham Park, owners of Ziggy’s Condor
The bookies have him in as favourite based on potential as opposed to what he's actually achieved, but he did do it impressively on his debut. He's been working very well since and six furlongs looks like it suits him perfectly. Quick ground for a son of Havana Grey is ideal and we go there hopeful.
Reporting by Raph McCall

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