Kissing Gate can make her mark

KISSING GATE, whose half-brother Keen Hunter took the Group One Prix de l'Abbaye in 1991, can make her mark in the Nelson Handicap…

KISSING GATE, whose half-brother Keen Hunter took the Group One Prix de l'Abbaye in 1991, can make her mark in the Nelson Handicap at Lingfield today.

The Easy Goer filly will never be a star sprinter - even as a juvenile her optimum trip was around a mile - but she certainly has the ability to win more races if campaigned in the right sort of company.

The Roger Charlton-trained chestnut showed signs of ability on her debut in soft ground at Chepstow when finishing fifth to Classic Eagle, getting the hang of things with around three furlongs to run and staying on to be beaten around 17 lengths.

She was about five lengths off the winner when fourth to Ground Game at Southwell on her next outing - like the Chepstow race over a mile - again keeping on inside the final quarter-mile.

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Given that she had looked more like a middle-distance filly in those two outings, it was an achievement for her to get off the mark over a mile on her last start at two, showing true grit to get the better of Red Rusty by a neck at Wolverhampton.

That was a weak contest but, with the third nine lengths away, the first two should be given credit. The step up to a mile and a quarter here will prove very much in her favour and Kissing Gate is taken to make it two wins from four runs.

Les Montague Hall's Robo Magic can continue his good run of form in the Repulse Handicap over six furlongs. The four-year-old returned to something like his best on his penultimate outing when finishing second to Half Tone over five furlongs at Lingfield.

At Leicester, Henrietta Knight's promising seven-year-old Master Orchestra can win his second race over fences