Molliana Looks Ahead of the Handicapper and Can Double Up at Sedgefield

Neil Mulholland sends just one horse up to Sedgefield on Thursday afternoon and that in itself can be seen as a tip from the trainer. He wouldn’t send this horse up for nothing, and I think she has a great chance of doubling up after her win at Fakenham last time out.

She qualified for a handicap mark by running over two miles, and then ran in her first handicap over the same distance. She stepped up in trip at Fakenham to two and a half, which she relished and you could see the improvement in her that day. She won comfortably enough by four lengths, but she was value for plenty more than that and I am very surprised to see that she has only been put up five pounds in the weights here.

She runs over two and a half miles again in this race, and that is going to be where he future lies. She is now off a mark of 94, which is still low and looks as though there is plenty of room to work with her off that mark. I would be very surprised if she wasn’t in three figures at some point before the end of this season, I think she will be going up in the handicap again soon.

This race doesn’t look like it will take a huge amount of winning, unless the two horses that are closest to her in the market prove to be better than we have seen so far. They are Calliope and Whiteoak Stroller, who are both making their handicap debuts in this contest. Based on what we have seen from them so far, they look to be weighted correctly, although obviously there is a chance that they have been holding something back for when they go handicapping.

Having said that, they would have to have at least five pounds in hand if they were to trouble Molliana here, who I think has that and more to play with off her current mark. She is the kind of horse who will continue progressing with experience and she sets a very good standard here for the handicap newcomers to aim at.

I don’t think they are good enough to get to her, and I strongly fancy Molliana to follow up her win at Fakenham with another here when she goes up to the north to run at Sedgefield on Thursday.