K Burke improver to outclass Friday rivals.

My William Haggas nemesis horse Carbine Harvester heads to post in the class 2 6F handicap due off at 3.00 on Friday.

I remain convinced that his last victories have been achieved through a case of absolutely everything going right for the horse. Track position, usual front runners being held up and strongly fancied horses against the 3yo disappointing despite heavy support.

Carbine Harvester as a result has risen 14lb in the handicap from 68 to 82 and i simply cannot believe he can win again on Friday despite being introduced in the market as 7/2 favourite. He will drift but that has been the case in all his other victories !!

Apart from the Irish raider Red Evolution and the Clive Cox runner Good Banter, (the stable still has yet to have an AW winner this year and has the dreaded 12 draw in the field of 12) the form of the rest of the field is interlinked. Without going through all the details there is one horse that is clear top rated on Racing Post Ratings and I believe is ready to make giant steps forward. I think the horse will win here and then go onto win on AW Finals day in April.

The horse i favour is Karl Burke’s 3yo gelding Motawahij. Ridden by Billy Loughnane and ideally drawn in stall 6.

Going back to the Irish raider Red Evolution his trainer Michael O’Callaghan sends three horses to the meeting and the other two are ridden by Loughnane.

He has chosen to ride Motawahij in what will only be his 5th ride for the Karl Burke stable his last was when Swingalong was beaten a head in a Group 1 sprint at Ascot in October

Talking of Ascot – Motowahij was considered good enough to contest the listed Chesham Stakes at the Royal meeting where he led the field until the 2f pole before weakening to finish well beaten have pulled to hard. This deficiency remained with the horse when he next went to Ayr, dropped back in trip to 5f. Despite pulling hard he went long odds on in running cruising into the lead before those early exertions, took their toll and he was beaten just over 1L by Symbol of Strength.

At face value that was disappointing, accept on his next two starts Symbol of Strength finished 3rd in the Gimcrack behind Cool Hoof Luke and the Guineas favourite Shadow of Light. Then he won the Listed Sirenia Stakes at Kempton and is rated 107.

He was then put away until January when he reappeared in Class 2 6f handicap at Newcastle, one of the races that includes the form lines for Fridays contest. Badly drawn in stall 1 he again showed his dual tendency to combine natural speed with pulling hard from the outset. He quickly went clear but again weakened finishing 5th but only beaten 5L

8 days later in was sent out to post again to contest a weak 5f Novice stakes at Newcastle. Sent off 2/5 favourite he proved more amiable and settled well winning without any fuss. The handicapper has chosen to disregard the value of the form and he remained on a mark of 78 which looks remarkably lenient based on his form with Symbol of Strength.

As a reward for settling better and breaking his maiden tag , 4 days later he was gelded!

This is highly likely to result in the 3yo settling better and given that he has been bred exclusively on USA dirt form lines, it seems logical to believe this has been done to collect some big prizes on the AW here before being shipped back to the USA to continue his career on the dirt.

The 45,000 prize here and the 75,000 on offer for the finals day would seem a good enough incentive. Burke has pulled off a similar double albeit in conditions stakes graded with El Caballo in 2022.

Stable jockey Clifford Lee is required at Southwell to ride for the yards leading owner Sheik Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum and Loughnane will get the opportunity to ride a race in which he excels, getting a position behind a strong pace and then producing the horse to win inside the final furlong.

Recommended Bet 1pt ew Motowahij 3.00 Lingfield Friday 15/2 Betfair and Paddy Power 1-4 places.