Time Could Fly At Newbury

David Menuisier is a trainer to watch this season and he has an intriguing runner in the Greenham Stakes on Saturday. He sent out Contrapposto to run a massive race in the Craven on Thursday so he evidently has his string in decent form. He runs Make Time at Newbury, and this horse made a big impression on me last season.

Make Time looks overpriced on Saturday.

I was on him at 50/1 when he made his debut in a maiden at Ascot (7f gd/fm) last September, and he missed out on the win by the width of a cigarette paper. He didn’t enjoy the clearest of passages either, and the horse that beat him holds entries in the Dante and the Derby this year. Make Time made no mistake in a 7f maiden at Salisbury next time, sluicing up on soft ground by 5L.

The form of that race has worked out well, and though the runner up was beaten next time out the 3rd home went close in a maiden next time. The 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th have all gone on to win races since, so there is a fair bit of substance to the form. Although that win came on soft, it was good to firm for his debut so the forecast fast surface at Newbury shouldn’t inconvenience him.

Make Time is a colt by Makfi, the sire of dual Group 1 winner Make Believe, and he is a stallion that I have a lot of time for. His Lomitas dam was a triple 7f fast ground winner and she is a half sister to the one and only Budapest Bullet, Overdose. It is a pedigree with a lovely mix of stamina and speed and 7f could turn out to be his optimum trip.

He is kept to 7f on Saturday and though this looks a decent renewal he looks more than worth his place. Contrapposto showed on Thursday that Menuisier knows the time of day, and he wouldn’t be running Make Time unless he thought he could be competitive. I think 16/1 looks too big, and with 10 going to post he is well worth chancing each way.

STEVOS’ SELECTION: GREENHAM STAKES-MAKE TIME E/W @ 16/1