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Polar Forest runs in the 3.05 a 1m2f142y 56-75 handicap ridden by P.J. McDonald and drawn in stall 10 of the 14 runners. Polar Forest is returning today following a break and it is his first appearance for 152 days. Polar Forest was a course and distance winner in November and he has won in his younger days on the back of long absences, looking at his current handicap mark of 70, he is running from the same mark he won from in November, and when looking back at what he has been rated in the past, he does look like he should be able to be competitive from this mark these days. Polar Forest is getting a bit older and whilst he still has plenty of ability these days, it may be that he isn’t quite the force he was at his prime but the 20lb lower mark than his career high of 90 does reflect this, and as horses age they sometimes do just need a run or two to blow the cobwebs away so that is a little worry today. Polar Forest has been working well at home and does look in great condition so we believe he is in great form heading to Newcastle today and he is proven over course and distance and at this level. Today’s race looks a pretty tight handicap and is no doubt going to be a competitive heat, but at around 14/1 Polar Forest certainly looks worth considering as a little each way option in a tricky race as he has shown in the past he is capable under these conditions.
Sakhalin Star runs in the 4.50 Division 2 of a 1m5y 46-60 handicap ridden by Martin Lane and he is drawn in stall 2 of the 14 runners. On paper this is a fairly wide open race, with a number of horses that have shown a little bit of form recently and some lightly raced and unexposed sorts. Sakhalin Star fits into the first bracket of having shown a little bit of form recently, last time out at Hamilton he ran a little disappointingly, but he did get a little keen during the race and was in front from a long way out which probably wasn’t ideal and we have elected to take the sheepskins which will hopefully not lead to him getting quite so keen and using up energy that he doesn’t need to early. Prior to his run at Hamilton, Sakhalin Star had returned this season in good form and had put a string of respectable performances together, on his best form Sakhalin Star is currently rated a long way below his peak. If Sakhalin Star did manage to return to somewhere near his best, he would have to have a great chance in today’s race as he has ran well on the Tapeta in the past and is racing from a career low handicap mark of 55 today, but the worry with Sakhalin Star is that he often runs well without winning as his career record of 2 wins from 61 starts and near two year losing streak shows, but at some point Sakhalin Star must surely find his way back into the winners enclosure as he has too much ability not to, the question with Sakhalin Star is always when that day will be.