It has been quite a week for jockey Neil Callan. On Friday, he rode a hat-trick at Newmarket, before winning the Shergar Cup Silver Saddle on the Saturday after two winners on the meeting.
Such is the topsy-turvy nature of racing though, that he was then involved in a nasty incident at Kempton when his horse in the second race on the card fell. Despite it looking a crashing tumble, Callan recovered to take his other ride on the day – and duly won aboard Fariba.
On Wednesday, the former Hong Kong champion rides three back at Kempton and we have looked at their individual chances below.
Manwhothinkshecan (5.05 Kempton)
Callan will be the fifth different rider Ed Dunlop has used aboard MANWHOTHINKSHECAN, though this is not because he is a problem horse.
His three runs in maiden and novice company between April and June were all perfectly respectable. His debut over 5f at Newbury can be put down to the trip, as he has not coped with it on either time he has faced it. His clear bests have been over 6f and 7f so far.
That includes a fourth of five at Yarmouth, in which he finished in very close attendance to three very useful novices and a third on his nursery debut at Catterick last time out. That day, it seemingly benefitted the front two to dominate the pace, but Manwhothinkshecan was the clear best of those in behind.
Remaining at 7f does not look to be a problem and he is down 2lb for that last run. With a less pronounced pace bias, he should be in greater contention.
Photo Bomb (6.50 Kempton)
PHOTO BOMB is likely to be the longest shot of the day for Callan, but this is a small field and it is not beyond reason that this three-year-old makes her presence felt more than on her previous two runs.
She has been eighth of nine in both starts to date, being well-beaten at both Kempton and Southwell. Trainer Rae Guest, though, has had a profitable enough season and his three-year-olds are operating at a 21% strike rate to a level stakes profit of 21 points.
His filly is a half-sister to his own Kiss Kiss, a winner last month and rated in the high 70s. That also came over this trip of 7f, so it is in Photo Bomb’s family to eventually come good over this distance.
Racecourse evidence gives her a lot to do, but only two of her rivals are definitively better here on form and it might only take a little improvement, coupled with one of them underperforming, for her to surprisingly hit the frame.
Raajil (7.25 Kempton)
Tom Clover’s RAAJIL will be a ride Callan is eyeing with confidence. Despite his each-way price, there are reasons to be confident another win could be coming.
He was initially owned by Godolphin and trained by Saeed bin Surror, but he raced only once for those connections when third at Leicester as a two-year-old. After changing hands in 2021, he finally raced again after 506 days off and won on his stable debut at Southwell.
A month later, he followed up under a winner’s 7lb penalty at Wolverhampton and looked like another going places for Clover this season. However, he then came up against a fearsome all-weather rival in Notre Belle Bette at Kempton when upped to 1m and two subsequent efforts at Windsor and Chelmsford have seen him fail to go close.
Callan rode him for the first time on his last run when unable to get involved from the back on his return to 7f. However, a mark of 82 still looks low on his best efforts anda first time visor may enable him to get back on with the job.