Wednesday 14th October 2026
6.30 Kempton – (Class 2 Novice) (7f)
Marco Botti’s KEITHAAR appeals plenty in this Class 2 affair under Marco Ghiani. She’s a filly by Starspangledbanner who was sent off the even-money favourite when second on debut at Southwell last month, which gave the impression that she’s highly regarded. She was six lengths behind News on that occasion; however, that rival could be decent and ran well on her next start, finishing just three-quarters of a length behind the winner in third despite having to give the weight away.
Despite the distance between the Botti filly and the winner at Southwell, she travelled very encouragingly through the race, and would’ve run out an impressive winner had she not bumped into a rival with a better turn of foot, as she herself was five lengths clear of the horse in third. She should almost certainly take a big step forward coming into her second start here, and that has to make her a very significant player.
A host of dangers lurk who fit similar profiles, with several solid efforts to their name, and it’s only a matter of time before they open their respective accounts. These include the likes of Iris Olivia and Speed Nation, who have both run well within Class 3 events. Hidden Beyond has placed in all three of her starts, with all three coming at this track, and she once again merits respect for Charlie Hills, whilst You’re Sensational is likely to improve significantly for the Godens following her fifth-place effort on debut, where she was slowly away but did rally.
Selection: Keithaar – (5/2) (Win)
