Graeme Rodway is on the hunt for Royal Ascot hopefuls in hot handicap

1.40 Thirsk
JW 4x4 Northallerton Handicap | 1m4f | 4yo+ | RTV

Newmarket trainer Charlie Fellowes has his string in fantastic form and will be bidding for his fifth winner from 15 runners in the last fortnight when Jeremiah lines up in this handicap.

Fellowes doesn't send many to Thirsk – it's nearly 190 miles to the North Yorkshire track from his base – but he has a good record there. His 14 runners at the course since the start of 2017 have yielded four winners, two seconds and two thirds (£1 level-stake profit of £3.95).

Jeremiah has a couple of other good things going for him. First, Fellowes has booked Danny Tudhope to ride and the pair are 3-8 (38 per cent) when joining forces in the last five seasons.

Charlie Fellowes has Royal Ascot ambitions for JeremiahCredit: Alan Crowhurst

Second, Jeremiah will be sporting a first-time visor and his last victory was achieved in a switch of headgear. That came when he wore blinkers for the first time at Ascot last July.

Andrea Atzeni isn't a regular at Thirsk either (2-20 in the last five seasons), but his association with leading owner Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum means he takes the ride on Throne Hall, who was an impressive winner for Kevin Stott at Doncaster last month.

That made it two wins from four starts for the four-year-old, who showed improved form on his first start since being gelded and is unexposed despite having gone up 9lb in the weights, while the step up two furlongs in trip looks sure to suit Throne Hall.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Charlie Fellowes, trainer of Jeremiah
Think of the quirkiest horse you can remember and then multiply that by 200. But as quirky as he is, he is also extremely talented so we thought this was a lovely starting point. The plan is to really limit his racing because if you over-race these types of horses that can be the nail in the coffin. The plan is to run here and then go straight into Royal Ascot, probably for the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes. He's won over course and distance and with Danny Tudhope onboard that day as well. He's in great form and this has been the plan for a long time.

Throne Hall: son of Kingman has potential as a stayerCredit: Mike Egerton (Getty Images)

Kevin Ryan, trainer of Throne Hall
He's a horse we've always liked who has taken a bit of time to mature and so we've looked after him. He won nicely at Doncaster and he's in good form. The trip is something we need to explore early in the season so we can see where we're going but I don't think it will be a problem going a mile and a half.

Tom Dascombe, trainer of Morisco
He is a horse that runs well first time out and when he won at Newbury last year he looked like a really good horse. He wants quick ground and I think he goes there a fit, well and happy horse, who should have a great chance. He's not going to be favourite but he's a nice horse on a bit of a comeback.

Hugo Palmer, trainer of Golden Pass
It's a competitive contest and I would have thought Kevin Ryan's horse [Throne Hall] will be very much the one to beat. My filly is in good form and I've been very pleased with her work. She is lightly raced and I very much hope her best days are in front of her.

Thirsk provides the early fare on a day when eyes will be focused on Windsor

Switching to a morning start to avoid a clash with the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral caused no problems at Thirsk, which launches its 2021 season with an opener at 11.10am.

The card finishes at 2.40 and course manager James Sanderson said: "It's not an issue logistically. If it was a normal raceday and the public had been coming, it would clearly drive a bit of a coach and horses through the crowd. But the public aren't coming.

Thirsk stages its first 2021 fixture on SaturdayCredit: David Davies (Getty Images)

Thirsk card and betting

"The fact that Ayr and Newbury have gone to Sunday for the ITV coverage means we're the main focus on a Saturday afternoon up until 2.40pm and I'll be very interested to see what my betting turnover is like on Watch and Bet on Racing TV – that's our primary source of income at the moment."

The track, which will stage its richest race in Sanderson's time at the helm when the Cliff Stud Thirsk Hunt Cup is run for £50,000 on May 1, is ready for action despite damage caused by vandals over the Easter weekend.

"When the weather picks up and the clocks go forward we tend to get bother," Sanderson said. "We're a town racecourse, wide open and easily accessible.

"You get packs of kids who tend to gravitate to places out of sight. They'd clearly decided to walk the course and damage as much running rail as they could be bothered to on the way round.

"It's the stupidity and mindlessness that annoys you the most. It was immaterial financially but it was time-consuming getting it all put back up."
Reporting by David Carr and Scott Burton

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