Sam King picks out a horse who broke their maiden tag over the last week to follow...
Rewind to Wolverhampton last Tuesday and you'll find Angel Of Rain getting off the mark at the third attempt in the six-furlong fillies' novice event.
A filly who had shown a modicum of ability in her two runs for William Haggas, it's hard to forgive bookmakers opening up at 66/1 that morning. However, connections were evidently expecting something on her first outing for James Horton and she was sent off at a mere single-figure 9/1 under George Wood.
That said, combine the narrow winning margin with the fact this was a run-of-the-mill Wolverhampton winter novice event and it's easy to see why many might be looking to crab Angel Of Rain. However, the runner-up was sent off a very well-backed 8/13 market leader to defy the penalty she picked up for winning over the same course and distance earlier in the month and I suspect she's an above-average type in her own right.
Jack Jones' filly Enola Holmes has since been handed a rating of 78 and while she might not be chucked in off that mark heading into handicaps, it does put into perspective the performance Angel Of Rain put up to make a winning start for James Horton when you factor in that she was giving away 10lb for being a four-year-old.
Although clearly more physically advanced than her opposition at Wolverhampton that day, there'd no doubt there should be more to come from the daughter of Dark Angel, especially when she gets back on the turf.
"She's a big scopey filly and you'd like to think when the turf season begins, she can progress into a nice type," said George Wood.
"She was still big a raw filly, but she has plenty of speed about her and did well the other day to get her head in front.
"I'd expect her to continue improving and I'm she'll develop into a nice filly for the future."
Allocated an official rating of 74, it will be interesting to see if connections opt to give her any entries in handicap company in the not-so-distant future because looking further down the line, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see her develop into a horse who is capable of being competitive off marks within the 80s this season.
