What to look for and who to back at Brighton Races

There really are (almost) two Richard Phillips among the nine-runner field for this tricky little contest as the switchback seaside venue brings down the curtain on its 22 days of exciting action during 2024.

One is actually a horse - the other a trainer.

Ricardo Phillips is a three-year-old gelding, trained and owned (with several other shareholders) by Henry Candy at Kingstone Warren in Oxfordshire, and takes his title from his dam, Arlene Phillips, who was presumably named after the TV personality, choreographer and one-time Strictly Come Dancing judge.

And no doubt, Henry was thinking of his one-time assistant Richard Phillips when he decided what to call his three-year-old.

The human Phillips holds an outstanding chance of grabbing the ten furlongs handicap as he brings Fighting Poet back for a fifth consecutive race overlooking the Marina (two wins, a third and a fourth have been recorded since late-August), but it has to be said that the equine RP must make vast improvement here if he is to “trouble the judge”, having been beaten a total of 72 lengths in his four attempts to date.

So, not for the first time this summer, the nap vote goes to Fighting Poet, who admittedly needs once again to show his brave battling qualities if he is to overcome his predictable tardy start. Additionally, although apprentice S. D. Bowen did nothing wrong on the six-year-old the last twice he has been on board, it’s significant that Billy Loughnane is reunited with him.

I predict a “Chapter & Verse” delivery here for the well-named, late developing son of The Gurkha before he enters his Adlestrop winter quarters.

Billy, in sight of a second consecutive 100-total in the official championship ratings [140+ in the annual list], rarely leaves a race meeting without a winner or two. And the 18-year-old with a permanent smile, who still looks too young to be behind the steering wheel of a car, could also be “poetry in motion” on Far From Dandy for his principal employer George Boughey in the Docker Hughes Memorial event at 2.40.

Far From Dandy showed smart improvement from his Newcastle debut run last month to open his account at Yarmouth (with Billy up) nine days later.

The Tony Carroll bandwagon rolls back to Brighton with the Pershore trainer fielding three more runners in his determined bid to clinch that elusive first yearly century of victories.

Following a lean September, the stable from the land of plums has returned to fruitful days in good time for the final two-and-a-half months of the campaign, and a first-and-last race double is on the cards for the genial Carroll, with My Genghis and Dequinto, both partnered by Jack Doughty.

The 17-year-old future star of the weighing room has quickly become a standing dish at Brighton, with eight of his 40 (27 of them for Carroll) victories so far this year coming at Freshfield Road.

Selections:- 1.30 MY GENGHIS 2.05 RORY ROCKET 2.40 FAR FROM DANDY 3.15 MARSH BENHAM 3.50 FIGHTING POET (NAP) 4.20 ROMANOVICH 4.55 DEQUINTO