Monday’s best bets, by Chris Cook
I enjoyed my time with Ben Pauling yesterday and have just a bit more detail for any among you who like his Barters Hill for the Albert Bartlett but are possibly a bit put off by the fact that his jumping got a bit scruffy last time, in the hardest race he has had so far.
“He did lose a shoe at Doncaster, at what point in the race we do not know,” Pauling told me. “But David [Bass] did feel that he just wasn’t as willing to pick up early as he had been and we think that probably is the reason why, because he’d lost a shoe and wasn’t as stable in front.
“But also it was the first time he’d jumped under pressure, competitively, in his life and thank God we did it because we’ve now had the opportunity to school him plenty of times and he’s improved for it.”
Barters Hill still holds an entry for the Neptune at next week’s Cheltenham Festival but Pauling did not seem interested in taking on Alan King’s Yanworth, favourite for that race. “I was genuinely undecided and [then] Yanworth’s dazzling performance at Cheltenham … The Irish are dominant enough without the two best English novices taking each other on.”
At Wolverhampton, I’m interested by the return to action of Mallymkun (3.50), a 5-2 shot for the fillies handicap. She was kept busy by Karl Burke last year but only got her act together at the end of it, scoring her first success over this course and distance in October.
That form has worked out in her absence, with the runner-up, Supersta, winning five times and climbing two stone in the weights. Mallymkun needs to have improved to beat an 8lb higher mark but that seems probable.
The 8-1 seems on the big side about Wordiness (4.50), who goes well around this circuit. David Evans got him going the right way last year and three of his last four starts were in much hotter company. Silvestre De Sousa, back in action in Britain today, has won three of his last four on him.
Tipping competition - a new week
Congratulations to 72luca, who won last week’s competition on a final score of +29 after picking a 4-1 winner on Friday. That was just enough to hold off the late charge of Lindsey6677 (+27.13).
This week’s prize is a copy of the Racing Post’s Cheltenham Festival Betting Guide 2016, now on sale for £12.99 and including trends, tips, analysis and an in-depth assessment of the major contenders. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy here.
This will be a FOUR-DAY competition, to give us a chance to get the thing posted out to our winner in time for Monday and a good study-up. Thursday will be the final day of this competition and we will contact our winner by email that evening.
To kick things off, we’d like your selections, please, for these races: 3.40 Lingfield, 4.00 Southwell, 4.50 Wolverhampton.
As ever, our champion will be the tipster who returns the best profit to notional level stakes of £1 at starting price on our nominated races, of which there will be three each day up until Friday. Non-runners count as losers.
In the event of a tie at the end of the week, the winner will be the tipster who, from among those tied on the highest score, posted their tips earliest on the final day.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
