HI NOD can take advantage of a rare straightforward task to end his losing run at Redcar today. The six year old is a smart performer at around seven furlongs or a mile, the winner of 12 races and well over £100,000 in prize money in his career.
But it has become increasingly difficult for trainer Maurice Camacho to find winning opportunities for the horse as a result. Hi Nod has been hit hard by the handicapper since he defied lot, to make a successful reappearance at Doncaster in May and has been lumbered with welter burdens ever since.
Yet the horse showed he was not quite up to Pattern company when managing only seventh in the Beeswing Stakes at Newcastle in July. But there, is no sign that Hi Nod has lost his enthusiasm as a result of the stiff tasks he has been facing.
Indeed, he ran the race of his life when just pipped at Doncaster on St Leger day by Decorated Hero, who boosted the form when running away with the Tote Festival Handicap at Ascot.
Camacho's scouring of the programme book now appears to have paid dividends and today's Castleton Conditions Stakes looks very much a race he can win.
The contest excludes this year's Class A or B winners, and penalises the six year old only 2lb for last term's victories. Hi Nod is the clear form choice and will find both the seven furlong trip and good to firm ground ideal.
Dragonada can maintain Henry Cecil's, fine run with, two year old fillies in the EBF Fillies' Maiden at Warwick. She showed plenty of promise when second at Nottingham on her debut last month, and looks to have been found the ideal opportunity to go one place better.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/YVIRIOZQ35EWRPZXR27KGMO6YU.png)