Brighton stages its first meeting of the year today and if the current weather holds for just a few more hours, the racecourse which stands on top of the tallest hill in the city will be a very pleasant place to be as the season gets underway at 4.40. The racing itself is quite modest, even by Brighton’s standards, but the view out across the sea beyond the winning post will be spectacular.
Time may show that the best horse running at Brighton this evening is Taexali (4.40), the favourite for the opening maiden for juveniles. Not many horses travel across from Ireland for early-season maidens here, but Taexali is an exception having started his career at The Curragh late last month in a race that has already produced a subsequent winner. He is by Raven’s Pass out of a High Chaparral mare and so will probably need a fair bit further than this sharp five-and-a-bit furlongs in time, but he showed plenty of speed first time up and it will be a surprise if there is one in the field to beat him.
Elsewhere on the card, Gannicus (5.45) is worth backing to follow up some good recent form on the all-weather now that he returns to turf, while Top Set (6.15) is another who has been running well during the winter season and may finally get off the mark at the 19th attempt. Welease Bwian (7.50) is another to catch the eye in the finale, as he is one of only two course winners in the field and the other, Peter Island, is returning from more than 800 days on the sidelines. Stuart Williams’s six-year-old recorded his only turf win here off a 2lb lower mark than he races off today.
At Kempton, Pearl Noir (nap 2.20) can improve his record over this course and distance to three-from-three in the opening race, while Double Czech (next best 3.55) needs to reproduce his good recent form at Windsor to figure now that he returns to Polytrack but will stand every chance if he can.
Tipping competition, day two
Our winners so far:
Monday
Out Do 14-1
Divine 7-1
Carthage 11-1
And our leader is …
Stephen Peter Phillips +20
… who had the first two winners of the week. No one found Carthage, so his nearest pursuers are the six others who picked Out Do and are now on +12.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.45 Ludlow, 4.55 Kempton, 7.20 Brighton.
This week, we’re offering you a second chance to win a copy of Racing & Football Outlook’s Flat Racing Guide 2015, including tips for the season ahead, profiles of horses to follow, detailed results from last year and trainer interviews among many features. If you don’t win, you can buy it here.
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. If you have not joined in so far this week, you are welcome to do so today, but you will start on -3.
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!
