There are two meetings on the Flat this afternoon and two more this evening, but the most valuable card of the day – and by some distance – is over the jumps at Newton Abbot, where there is £68,000 to play for against the £57,000 on offer at Leicester.
The feature event at the west country track is a £20,000 handicap hurdle which had eight runners, ideal for each-way betting purposes, at the overnight stage. Unfortunately, Ashoka has been taken out this morning and each-way punters will now need to find one of the first two home. That promises to be a much more difficult task in a race where five of the runners are currently trading between 5-1 and 6-1, and there is a fair case to be made for the 14-1 outsider, Magie Du Ma.
Cleni Wells, the bottom weight, is attracting money this morning and goes to post with every chance having finished a good second over course and distance six days ago. He runs off the same mark today, but slight preference is for Rossetti (3.10), who returned to winning form last time out and is just 3lb higher today. Neil Mulholland’s gelding, who started his jumping career in Jersey where his wins included the Channel Islands Champion Hurdle, rattled off a four-timer last summer after joining his current yard, culminating in a three-and-three-quarter length success from a mark of 134. That form gives him a leading chance racing off 135 today, and a quarter-mile step up in trip could also eke out a little more improvement.
Deauville Dancer (4.45) should follow up his easy win a week ago in the two-mile handicap chase, while Alcala (2.40) may be refreshed by a month-and-a-half off and resume his progress over fences in the novice event on the same card.
Showers are forecast at Ayr today ahead of the card at the track this evening which could have an effect on the going, but Fieldsman (8.25) is worth backing to get off the mark for David O’Mears in the seven-furlong handicap. This will be Fieldsman’s fourth run for his new yard, and the most promising of those by some way was his fourth place over today’s course and distance five days ago. That race was run in a decent time and the five-year-old is still 3lb below his winning mark in a better race than today’s at Newmarket last May.
Ice Age (7.40) and Arsenio Lupin (8.40) should both go well at Windsor this evening, while Meteor Light (3.20) could be the answer to the best race of the day at Leicester. Ed Vaughan’s three-year-old was gelded over the winter and returned to win a maiden at Nottingham last month with something to spare. That was just Meteor Light’s second start, he has fared well in the draw with stall 14 and he can make the most of a perfectly fair opening mark of 80.
Greg Wood’s tips for Monday
Leicester: 2.20 Porchy Party 2.50 Bourbonisto 3.20 Meteor Light (nb) 3.50 Verity 4.20 Mesbaar 4.55 Present Tense 5.25 Taskeen 6.00 Magic Moments
Thirsk: 2.00 Mabo 2.30 Jedi Master 3.00 Judicious 3.30 Compton Park 4.00 Tadaawol 4.35 Gaval 5.05 Lyric Harmony 5.35 Navajo Thunder
Newton Abbot: 2.10 Fuhgeddaboudit 2.40 Alcala 3.10 Rossetti 3.40 Mahlers Star 4.10 Passmore 4.45 Deauville Dancer 5.15 Lake Chapala
Ayr: 5.55 Born To Be Alive 6.25 Love Oasis 6.55 Mo Henry 7.25 The McGregornator 7.55 SS Vega 8.25 Fieldsman (nap) 8.55 Buzz Boy
Windsor: 5.40 Choice Encounter 6.10 Madame Bounty 6.40 Steaming 7.10 West Drive 7.40 Ice Age 8.10 Open Wide 8.40 Arsenio Lupin
(all times pm, BST)
