Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.

Three points of interest

Abingworth is an interesting recruit for Owen

James Owen has quickly established himself as a trainer who does very well with recruits to the stable so Abingworth catches the eye on his debut for the yard in the feature race at Fakenham on Sunday, the extended two-mile-five-furlong handicap chase (16:35).

Owen’s record with horses starting out for the yard in handicaps stands at 21 wins from 76 representatives at a highly impressive strike rate of 27.6%. Fakenham has also been a happy hunting ground for Owen as his 16 winners at the course have come at a strike rate of 28%.

New recruit Abingworth has the ‘x’ attached to his Timeform rating to highlight that he’s a poor jumper, and that tendency to make mistakes arguably prevented him from completing the hat-trick at Warwick last time as he was still just in front at the second last when unseating.

However, he’s on a good mark based on the pick of the form he showed for his former trainers, the Moores, and he heads Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings by 3lb at Fakenham. He also has the assistance of champion jockey Sean Bowen in the saddle for the first time.

Kitty Furnival has had a form boost

Kitty Furnival enjoyed a good campaign in 2024, winning twice and finishing placed four times from seven starts, but she produced her best performance yet on Timeform’s figures when runner-up on her reappearance at Lingfield in April.

Kitty Furnival proved no match for the rejuvenated winner, Educator, inside the final half-furlong and was beaten a length and a half, but she was well on top of the rest and finished four and three-quarter lengths clear of the third. Educator, was making only his second start for Henrietta Knight and was cashing in on a BHA mark that had fallen 20lb from its peak two seasons ago during his time with William Haggas.

Educator went on to defy a 4lb rise in the weights at Windsor a couple of weeks ago, doing well to make headway from the rear at a track where it is not usually easy to do so, confirming his return to form. That subsequent success shines a positive light on Kitty Furnival’s performance at Lingfield and she looks well treated in the mile-and-three-quarter handicap (16:45) at Chelmsford after edging up only 1lb.

Jowddah is still ahead of the handicapper

There are three last-time winners among the six fillies or mares in the extended mile handicap (17:00) at Nottingham, but one of them stands out on Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings.

Jowddah arrives at Nottingham in search of a hat-trick after a maiden win at Newcastle and handicap victory at Yarmouth, but her position 4lb clear at the head of Timeform’s weight-adjusted ratings suggests her latest performance has been underestimated by the BHA handicapper.

That looked like a good-quality fillies’ handicap at Yarmouth as four well-bred and expensive sorts pulled clear in a decent time, with Jowddah getting the verdict by half a length over a pair who dead-heated. That performance represented a significant step up from Jowddah on her previous efforts and it’s possible there could be even more to come after only five starts, so she can make light of a 3lb rise.

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