Today’s best bets, by Chris Cook
What a pleasure to see the name of Mountain Tunes (1.40) back on a racecard, partly because of the happy association of his being the horse on which AP McCoy rode his 4,000th winner but also because today at Exeter brings his chasing debut and he always looked a chaser. It is almost two years since we last saw him and I had rather given up hope.
A point-to-point winner who is a half-brother to three other points winners, Mountain Tunes looks fairly treated on a mark of 129, considering he gave weight and a beating when last seen to an older horse that has since won off 130. If he is the horse I think he is, this six-year-old ought to be a stone higher by the end of the winter.
Clearly there is the long absence to worry about and, in the ordinary course of events, a horse with his profile would need this run. Don’t back him if you’re going to feel foolish when he tires up the home straight.
But for me odds of 10-1 take account of that risk and it is certainly not beyond Jonjo O’Neill to have him ready despite such an absence, provided the setbacks have not been too significant. I tend to think it would have been easy enough for O’Neill to find a less demanding first run over fences than an Exeter handicap if he felt that was needed. But of course O’Neill has a more fancied runner in the race in Cloudy Copper and that will put a lot of people off Mountain Tunes.
One can be more positive about the chance of What A Dream (2.20) at Ayr in light of the nine-year-old’s course and distance success 11 days ago. He has only had a few runs for Alison Hamilton, who inherited him in the middle of last winter, and she seems to have got him going in the right direction.
The third horse from his recent win would have won next time, but for a late unseat. This is a winnable contest and What A Dream is only 5lb higher. He’s 7-4.
At Kempton, I quite like Intransigent (7.40) at 7-1 in an open-looking conditions race. He has a good strike-rate on Polytrack and won a Listed contest at Lingfield last November. Indeed, he ran well again at that level on fast ground at Chester this summer but has to be forgiven a couple of disappointing turf efforts this autumn. A hood is tried for the first time by Andrew Balding.
Tipping competition, day three
Our winners so far:
Monday
Salubrious 11-4
Fourth Act 4-1
The Steward 7-2
Tuesday
Bivouac 4-1
Raven’s Tower 20-1
Doctor Phoenix 3-1
And our leader is …
Fixxxer +25
… who had the game-changing Raven’s Tower as well as Bivouac and Fourth Act. Impressively, five other people had Raven’s Tower and Toptrapper is a close second on +23.75.
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.00 Bangor, 4.10 Exeter, 5.10 Kempton.
This week’s prize, in celebration of three days at Cheltenham at the end of this week, is a copy of WINNER: My Racing Life, the new book from the pen of AP McCoy, who used to ride a bit, as the more senior among you will recall. Billed as “the complete story of his astonishing career”, WINNER allows the 20-times champion jump jockey to reflect on his exploits in the saddle as well as discussing the more private side of being AP. If you don’t win, you can buy a copy 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 -6.
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.
Good luck!
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And post your tips or racing-related comments below.
