Harry Hurricane can blow hard for first win

At Plumpton yesterday, Tom Cannon rode 11-1 shot Itoldyou (right) clear of the last to win the At The Races Sussex National. Picture: Getty

The Kodiac colt looked a winner waiting to happen after finishing a close third on his juvenile debut at Leicester last April and it was no surprise that he was well fancied for a Newmarket conditions event a couple of weeks later.

He came up short at headquarters, with only an honourable third, but in hindsight it was a fair effort considering the winner, Mind Of Madness, ended the year with a three-figure rating.

Harry Hurricane was then second on his all-weather debut at Kempton before cutting little ice behind American ace Hootenanny at Royal Ascot, or star juvenile filly Tiggy Wiggy in the Super Sprint at Newbury.

However, he has his sights lowered considerably on his first start since July and if he can run up to somewhere near his mark of 81 he should prove difficult to beat. Medam can strike at Dunstall Park for the fourth time in the 32Red Fillies’ Handicap. The Shaun Harris-trained mare struck gold four times between January and July last year and although a six-race winless streak since could suggest the handicapper has caught up with her, that might not be the case.

On her latest visit to Wolverhampton she ran her best race for a while, slightly more patient tactics seeing her to the runner-up spot despite having to overcome a wide draw. She should be in the thick of the action once more, with Robert Winston keeping the ride.

Little Miss Mighty ought to fare better switched to open company for the first time in the 32Red Casino Handicap. She ran three promising races in maiden company as a two-year-old, over six and seven furlongs and a mile. Nick Littmoden’s charge steps up in trip again on her handicap debut and has plenty of scope for progress off a mark of just 54.

Cloudy Copper can perhaps provide Jonjo O’Neill with a welcome winner in the Panoramic Trackside Restaurant Novices’ Chase at Lingfield. By his own high standards the master of Jackdaws Castle has endured a torrid season so far, yet Cloudy Copper could hardly have performed better in defeat on his sole appearance of the campaign at  Uttoxeter in early December.

Making his first start in nearly two years, the eight-year-old lost his unbeaten record at the hands of Top Totti, but given that rival is rated in the 130s over fences, it was a fair effort from O’Neill’s charge after such a lengthy absence.

He has sensibly not been rushed back to the track and certainly has the talent to get back on the winning trail.