Sagesse set to strike on handicap debut at Wolverhampton

There is some competitive all-weather action at Wolverhampton tonight. Sagesse could well have got in lightly on her handicap debut, in the Coral App Download From The App Store Handicap at 7.00.

The filly is a typical Sir Mark Prescott inmate who, after shaping with bags of promise on her debut at this track when fourth over 1m 1f, duly improved for the step up in trip when winning at Kempton last time out, following a six-month lay-off.

The daughter of Smart Strike raced up with the pace in that 1m 3f contest and stayed on well to beat Conserve with more in hand than the 1 1/4 length margin suggests.

The runner-up was officially rated 72 and had some decent form in the book, and the assessor may well have taken a chance in allotting Sagesse an opening mark of 76 with the further step up in trip to 1m 4f expected to bring about further improvement.

This looks a nice opportunity for her, and she looks the type who could run up a sequence in coming weeks.

The 5f sprint handicap that opens the card at 5.00 looks a match between Iffranesia and Sir Geoffrey.

The two met at Southwell on their latest start when Sir Geoffrey came out on top by a length. However Iffranesia now meets Scott Dixon’s charge on 13lb better terms and that should be more than enough to see him gain his revenge.

Elsewhere on the card, Mick Easterby has a couple of interesting contenders in the shape of Ivestar and Singzak.

The former runs in the extended 5f handicap at 5.30 and has fallen to a very tempting mark. The gelding was last successful over course and distance off a mark of 60 and now races off just 55.

That should enable him to be really competitive, and prior to his last two runs on the fibresand at
Southwell he had run really well to be runner-up over course and distance off 56 and at Kempton off the same mark.

His stable companion Singzak has been knocking on the door of late, finishing runner-up in his last two starts, and looks to hold solid claims of going one better in the 6.30.