1:25 – Steady Away 5/1 E/W
This looks the weaker division of the two and Steady Away looks to set a solid standard here and he still has the scope for further improvement.
Still immature on his hurdles debut in October 2019, his jumping lacked fluency but he still ran a great race to finish 2nd to the now 127 rated, Mason Jar. He had some useful rivals in behind him too, with Potters Venture (NTO winner, beating the 132 rated Stick With Bill) and Ashfield Paddy (124) in 3rd and 4th respectively.
His next two runs were disappointing for all that he was running against good rivals, but he bounced back to form on his handicap debut at Market Rasen.
Held up that day, his jumping was still a tad sticky, but that didn’t stop him from travelling ominously well into the race (despite being wide throughout) as the field turned for home. He traded at evens in running, but two sloppy jumps at the final two obstacles ended his winning chances but he stayed on powerful to chase the winner all the way to the line.
The winner, Ballyhome, has placed three times and won once in 5 subsequent starts so the form has been well advertised. That rival won off 121 at Market Rasen and is now rated 137.
He looks a really strong stayer so the extra furlong he tackles today and the nature of Exeter should suit him. It’s also encouraging that he went very well when fresh last term.
Nicky Martin doesn’t have many runners, but her runners do outperform market expectations in novice hurdles (A/E 1.19), and she had a nice novice winner in Bear Ghylls with her most recent runner.
The trainer also has a good record at Exeter, operating at a 21% S/R (A/E 2.09)
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