Monday King to Dance at Wolves .

Two maidens for Somerville Lodge on Monday when King of Earth attempts to break his maiden tag in the 8.00 at Wolverhampton.

Things have not exactly gone to plan in his career so far for the half brother to the Queen Elizabeth Stakes Group 1 winner King Of Change. He was runner-up on his first start as a two-year-old, staying on really well despite notable signs of greenness. He was given an entry into the 2000 Guineas, and had he been successful in either of his two starts as a three-year-old, he would have taken his chance.

That wasn’t to be. He finished runner-up at Doncaster in a race he should have won. Then, drawn on the favoured stands’ rail in a huge 21-runner maiden at Newbury, he gave away the advantage by being held up, subsequently struggling to get a clear run at a vital stage of the race.

There was a positive, however: he was given a lenient handicap mark of just 85 and was entered to run in the Haydock Silver Bowl with a weight of 8st 3lb. In the words of trainer William Haggas, he was withdrawn “because we couldn’t find a good enough jockey” who could do the weight. Saffie Osborne was already booked to ride elsewhere.

Those entries suggest his connections want to see him at the big festivals and possibly still have Royal Ascot and the Britannia Stakes in mind. He will need to win very easily in this maiden to get a significant rise in the weights.

However, once again, even in what should be a penalty kick to secure his first win, there are complications. Firstly, he is drawn 11 of 11. Secondly, he faces the appearance of the very promising, superbly bred Ralph Beckett filly, Seven Sisters. She is a half-sister to the 2000 Guineas winner Barney Roy and was eye-catching on her debut behind another Haggas horse, Poetry of Time. Owned by Tony Bloom, she could attract support, but I don’t foresee any major market drift on King of Earth.

The Poetry of Time form shouldn’t be good enough to beat King of Earth, even with considerable improvement anticipated from the filly. I expect the Haggas colt to finally get off the mark, and it will be interesting to see where he heads to next, although the family tend to need cut in the ground to be at their best. From a betting point of view he is too short at 6/5 for us in a maiden and is passed over.

No Bet Recommended.

In the first division of the maiden at 7.30, Venetian Lion has his third run within a month—a sure sign that he is running to secure a handicap mark. His first two runs showed very little promise. After this race, with his mark secured, he will likely be given time to strengthen up and be readied to win races, possibly on All-Weather surfaces based on his breeding.

No Bet Recommended.

With no runners on Tuesday and Wednesday – Thursday features several very interesting entries although they are likely to need the forecast rain to arrive.