Penalty should not halt Heywood
The Thirsk trainer has few peers when it comes to handling speedsters and, after a brief dalliance at middle distances, Heywood is now back doing what he does best.
Unusually, he seems to have improved for being brought back in trip as he gets older.
When with Mick Channon last year he won over course and distance off a mark of 86 and he has been rated as high as 92 in the past.
Even with his 6lb penalty for a victory at Catterick last week, that still only takes him up to 88 in the handicap so there is still a bit of leeway.
The maiden in which Countrywide City made his debut at Newmarket is working out spectacularly well and he can add his name to the growing list of winners to come out of it in the Redcar A Course For All Reasons Median Auction Maiden Stakes at the seaside venue.
The winner was just pipped by the Ascot-bound Danehill Destiny next time and the second and third have both won since.
He might not be a star by any stretch of the imagination but when Peter Chapple-Hyam sends a runner north for such a race it merits serious consideration.
Another who should be winning is Henry Cecil’s Timetable in the Redcar Conference Centre Median Auction Maiden Stakes.
Runner-up in both starts to date, he found the firm ground all too quick at Newmarket last time but with a bit more give underfoot he should have no trouble in opening his account in a very winnable event.
Walter Swinburn’s Carniolan looks a winner in the first division of the Racing UK Maiden Stakes at Salisbury.
