Hugo Palmer Friday runners blog: 'He goes there with a good chance'

Hugo Palmer is back with an exclusive Coral blog, with the top trainer running us through his Friday runners at Newmarket and York.

I think Box To Box is better on quicker ground, but he’s run well enough on softer going for us to take our chance here. He’s slowly slipping down the handicap, although we’ve not been given much help, he’s still off 93 here, and his highest winning mark is 88. He has been beaten a nose off a mark of 94, so he can be competitive if it all goes right for him. I think the drop back in trip will help him cope with the ground here, he seems in good nick at home and that’s all we can hope for.

We've had endless hold ups with this colt and he’s been off for three months, albeit none of them have been anything serious, just a series of niggles. His form is really quite strong, his second place at York first time up this season has been given several boosts, and then he probably just got there a bit too soon at Salisbury on his second run. 

The horse he then beat at Ayr has run well in stakes race since, so all in all he has a solid look to him. I think he will improve for the step up to seven furlongs and he should enjoy the softer going. This is a very valuable prize and I think he goes there with a good chance.

We run two in the Old Rowley Cup. Grey Cuban has to prove he stays, and he might, but we’ve only had one go over this trip, and things didn’t go right for him then. He won over ten furlongs last time and did look as if he would stay, so hopefully we’ll find out here. He likes to race prominently and this is a good frontrunners track, while slowish ground should also suit.

Kitteridge was disappointing last time, and she hasn’t yet progressed from her early season promise. She is a lovely big filly with the scope to improve though, so there is still plenty of time for her. She handled the track when finishing third in the Pretty Polly back in May, and the winner that day has since won a Group One. We've given her a break since her last run and while she does need to improve she is a filly whose best days should still be ahead of her.

View the latest horse racing odds

All odds and markets correct as of date of publication.