Redcar Preview: Lawyer gets the verdict

Trainer David Barron has a tremendous strike-rate with his runners at Redcar and Lawyer looks to have leading claims of enhancing it in the 1m handicap there today (3.50).

North Yorkshire-based handler Barron has been successful with 29 per cent of his runners at the track in the past 12 months (five wins and two placed from 17 raiders) and in Lawyer has inherited a gelding who could be well-treated on the pick of his form when trained by Luca Cumani.

The four-year-old won three times for Cumani, and looked a handicapper to keep onside when scoring in good style in the last of those at Windsor.

Lawyer stayed on well to triumph going away by 1 3/4 lengths from St Paul De Vence off a mark of 80, and won with far more in hand than the margin suggests.

The son of Acclamation looked sure to win more races judged on the manner of the victory, but has not lived up to expectations in five subsequent starts.

However, his last two runs came in class 3 company and Lawyer was far from disgraced in the first of those when third of 11 to Consign at Newmarket off his current mark of 83.

That is solid form in the context of this lower grade class 4 contest, and if the switch of yards has freshened him up Lawyer looks weighted to take all the beating in the hands of Graham Gibbons.

In the 1m handicap (4.20), Second Wave looks a worthy favourite to provide in-form trainer Charlie Appleby with another winner.

The colt won his sole start over 7f at the track last year in good style, overcoming greenness to come from off the pace and get up late to collar Beach Samba by a neck.

There was lots to like about the way the son of New Approach dug deep and responded well to his riders’ urgings, and it was an effort which suggested Second Wave would be suited by the step up in trip to today’s mile.