Group Planning a Little Beverley Therapy

Beverley racecourse in East Yorkshire is set to be the scene of a fine sprint contest this coming Saturday when a large field of talented speedsters will face the starter for the prestigious Totesport.com Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, over the minimum trip of five furlongs, writes Elliot Slater.

With one of the stiffest uphill finishes in racing, Beverley puts a particular emphasis on stamina, and any 'short runner' is most unlikely to find the course to its liking. As long as the draw (high numbers are usually favoured), is kind to him, I fully expect the Jeremy Noseda-trained Group Therapy to take all the beating in the listed event, having won impressively over course and distance on his seasonal bow in June, before running into second place in both the Group 3 Coral Charge Stakes at Sandown, then finding only the high-class Borderlescott too good for him in the Group 2 Audi King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

Horse racing Ireland pundits note how Noseda has his team in particularly good form at present and the biggest danger to his charge is likely to be the underfoot conditions as there is little doubt that past evidence suggests that Group Therapy is at his best when the ground is on the fast side of 'good'. Should the promised rain arrive in the Beverley area, I would not be totally surprised if Noseda's decides to wait a while longer for his five-year-old to return to action.

In the event of Group Therapy being thwarted by the weather, Tim Easterby's Captain Dunne and the Dandy Nicholls-trained Masta Plasta would both come very much into the reckoning, whilst at a decent price Alan Berry's mare Look Busy, winner of the race two years ago on soft ground, would have a sound each-way chance.