Big Hitter (15:00 Catterick — Fillies’ Restricted Novice Stakes, 5f)
A two-year-old chestnut filly by Starspangledbanner, trained by Jamie Osborne and partnered by P J McDonald, who retains the ride after going close together last time. Big Hitter has shaped with real promise across both starts — a debut second at Chepstow on soft ground, then a narrow nose defeat at Newbury on good to firm in a stronger Class 4 novice, going down to Arabica Queen at 15/8 favourite.
She drops to a weaker Class 5 contest today over 5f and the form she brings to this race looks well above average for the level. Connections clearly have big plans — a Group 2 Lowther Stakes entry at York in August speaks volumes about how highly they rate her.
The one query is the draw in stall 2 with high numbers favoured at Catterick over 5f, which is worth bearing in mind.
