Yet another placer need to drop one over the line.
More to follow
3:35 York
TERRITORIAL KNIGHT – 1/2 Point Each Way @ 70/1 Ladbrokes boost 5 places, 66/1 5 generally
The simple matter is that I just don’t think he stays further than sprint distances as he’s shaped quite well in both seven-furlong outings so far this term, but just hasn’t fully seen out the trip.
At Beverley first time up, Territorial Knight travelled powerfully in a prominent position and was in front, still going well from the two-furlong marker until the final 150 yards or so.
It was a different story at Doncaster last time as, after getting bumped around soon after the start, Tom Eaves held onto him at the back. He moved up quite threateningly with a couple of furlongs to go before the run came to nothing, ending up being beaten four and a half lengths in sixth.
All the time the handicapper has been cutting some slack (dropped 1lb for each fast-ground defeat) and if you go back to the pick of his form from last year, when beaten narrowly by Yes I’m Mali on good to soft at Wetherby before winning easily at Pontefract, he’s starting to look on a decent mark.
He’s clearly eligible for weaker races than this but it’s encouraging to see Ryan rolling the dice with William Pyle taking off an extra 3lb in the saddle.
The same yard and ownership just missed out with Washington Heights in this event a couple of years ago and while Territorial Knight is unlikely to go on to emulate what that horse has achieved – and it could also be argued he’s the Hambleton/Ryan second-string here behind American Style – I still think there are more races to be won with him if allowed to stride on, particularly back over a relatively flat six furlong