Gordon Brown – Race Reporter
Gordon has a wealth of experience of racing through his background in the written and broadcast media. His current principle role is reporting and supporting the scene in Scotland on Racing TV and relaying the latest news with Scottish angles.
Callum Rodriguez is looking forward to riding Danger Bay again as the well-regarded colt steps up in class in the £26,000 feature race at Hamilton Park.
Trained in Middleham by Ed Bethell and a course and distance winner in maiden company in late June, he is likely to one of the market principals in the Hamilton Park Scottish Trophy Handicap over the extended 1m 1f.
“He’s learning all the time and is still a big raw horse that we think has a bright future,” Rodriguez said. “He did the job nicely last time and he’s only going to get better as he matures. We didn’t run him after his debut last summer as he just needed time to grow and develop.”
Danger Bay faces stiff competition from Newmarket raiders Immediate Effect (Sir Mark Prescott) and Noble Horizon (William Haggas) along with Wave Raider, who is trained by Berkshire rookie handler Harry Charlton.
The race has a habit of producing minor upsets as there has only been one successful favourite in the last eight renewals.
One or two of the runners have already shown a decent level of form in the EBF Restricted Maiden Stakes, which is over six-furlongs for two-year-ol.
Iain Jardine’s Stoic Poet has three solid runs to his name while Kevin Ryan-trained Showtown bumped into a subsequent winner when runner-up on his return from being gelded at Pontefract 25-days ago.
Five-time course and distance winner Temper Trap is after another strike at the south Lanarkshire venue in the Lanark Handicap.
Tim Easterby’s eight-year-old has won at least two races each season for the past five campaigns but has yet to strike this term.