Peter Naughton's Three To FollowPosted on Tuesday 12th December 2017 @ 09.17

A look at three of the horses to have caught the eye of Racing UK pundit Peter Naughton over the last week.

Mystical Clouds endured a nightmare passage when a close fourth in the bumper at Lingfield on Tuesday. Close up on the far rail, the four-year-old grey was trying to gain a clear run up the inner but there was never enough space to allow him to stride on. Pushed along behind the leader, this talented son of Cloudings has clearly improved on his Worcester debut and should have little trouble winning soon.

Barrys Jack was fancied by connections in the 2m4f handicap chase at Aintree on Saturday. Brian Ellison's seven-year-old won on his chase debut at Perth in September and twice in novice hurdles at Carlisle the following month.

Proven in testing ground, he was expected to relish receiving weight off only 10st 5lb but made errors over the Mildmay fences. Having unseated at the fourth at Sedgefield when reverting to the larger obstacles eleven days earlier, the son of Well Chosen was held up in touch but made a mistake at the third. He wasn't fluent at the ninth before another mistake at the tenth. Outpaced before three-out, the gelding was beaten when blundering badly two-out.

Barrys Jack is still well treated off 113 but a slight drop in class when giving weight to lesser rivals over smaller fences might suit.

Moratorium didn’t handle heavy ground when well beaten in the 2m pro-am Flat race at Punchestown on Sunday. Gordon Elliot's four-year-old showed good pace to race prominently behind the leaders and was still disputing third at halfway.

Pushed along in fourth over half a mile out, the son of Presenting couldn't pick up in the testing conditions but he remains unexposed and could be interesting on better ground in the spring.

The gelding cost 78,000 euros as a three-year-old and is a brother to multiple winner Sugar Baron and half-brother to 2m hurdle/chase winner The Way We Were.

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Article Posted on Tuesday 12th December 2017 @ 09.17