Nick Luck’s William Hill blog: Scorthy can be the 2000 Guineas Champ

William Hill ambassador Nick Luck looks over the ITV races on Saturday, including the first Classic of the British Flat season, the 2000 Guineas.

Newmarket, Saturday

MORE THUNDER can follow up his recent course success in the TV Opener at Newmarket on Saturday (1:45pm). He was impressive here on his stable debut, hitting the line hard and looking as though a step back up in trip could be in the offing at some point. The pace, here, however, is likely to be frenetic with Lethal Levi, Inishfallen, Woodhay Wonder and others all set to bull forward. This should suit the selection ideally.

FOX LEGACY could go well in an admittedly very spicy edition of the Suffolk Stakes (2:20pm). Smart last year, he looked particularly good at Salisbury when the ground was on the firm side. His subsequent starts were on soft and over too far. Returned to a well-run nine furlongs, with a gelding operation under the belt and a new yard that is flying, Fox Legacy should be right in the thick of it.

TROPICAL STORM looks overpriced in the Palace House (2:55pm). Most of these are well exposed, but he could have a fair bit more to offer and gets a nice chunk of weight-for-age allowance. His two-year-old form looks very solid, in light of the subsequent exploits of Magnum Force and Big Mojo, and he can make a bold fist of it from near the front.

SCORTHY CHAMP will doubtless be ready to run the race of his life in the Guineas (3:35pm). I’ve had him and Green Impact as the two against the field for a while at the prices, and I’ve just come down on the side of the O’Brien runner, for whom this is D-Day, whilst Green Impact might be more a Derby horse. A Group One winning two-year-old, Scorthy Champ shaped as though coming up in trip would really suit, but he has plenty of speed in his pedigree and doesn’t lack for a turn of foot. The ground should be perfect, and he’s set for a big run.

Goodwood, Saturday

SEA TO SKY makes a bit of appeal in the Conqeuror Stakes at Goodwood (2:00pm). This is a punchy enough start to the season for a filly rated 88, but I’m not sure even Ralph Beckett training for owner-breeders would sacrifice a mark like that given that the filly already has black type. I’m fairly sure that she’ll appreciate the nice ground, and the way that she despatched some nice enough rivals at Newmarket last year indicates she’s likely to be a stakes performer.

Thirsk, Saturday

FLIGHT PLAN could be the one in the Thirsk Hunt Cup (2:35pm). He’s spent most of his life knocking around in much loftier company than this, but hasn’t really deteriorated all that much. He should be much sharper for his recent spin round here and the yard’s older horses have on the whole been improving markedly for a run this year.