Wednesday’s best bets, by Tony Paley
Sedgefield was abandoned under snow yesterday and Market Rasen was lucky that the meeting survived the afternoon after heavy sleet showers hit the Lincolnshire track. The rain which has blighted the jumps season this campaign continues to fall and both National Hunt fixtures on Wednesday will take place on pretty testing ground.
Under these trying conditions the all-weather has been the better betting vehicle this winter and the most interesting wagers today are on the sand. Al Raqeeb (7.05) is the best bet of the day at Kempton where he is fancied to follow up his debut win for trainer Marco Botti. The selection was victorious at Lingfield last month and with improvement likely and the fact that he is not been treated harshly by the handicapper, this looks a good opportunity for him to follow up.
At Southwell it is always best to look to those with course form and Bocamix (3.15) fits the bill. He won well over track and trip in November and figures here off a mark just 1lb higher.
The Nottinghamshire track reopened for business yesterday following a long closure due to flooding and for those punters who like to get an edge it’s always a popular venue as the Fibresand surface throws up (geddit) plenty of course specialists.
However, it’s a pity that the sport there is restricted to such poor quality. This has been one of the abiding issues concerning all-weather racing since its introdcution in 1989. After the first ever fixture at Lingfield I wrote a feature in the weekly Raceform Update (RIP) calling on the racing authorities not to let the sport on the sand consist of virtually all poor quality racing.
Nearly a quarter of a century later and that is most definitely still the case at Southwell. I asked ATR pundit Hugh Taylor for his take on the situation.
He told me: “The issue really is that there is no long-term future in this country for a quality Fibresand horse. There are good-class races at most distances, including Listed events, for good-quality Polytrack horses, but once a horse is rated above 85 on Fibresand connections are lucky if there is more than one race a year for which the horse is eligible.
“That’s a major problem as the surface throws up a lot of specialists that are nowhere near as good on Polytrack or turf. This becomes a vicious circle as there is little incentive for potentially suitable horses (eg ones whose pedigree suggests they will be suited by the surface) rated above, say, 75 to be aimed at a Fibresand campaign as one win will mean there are no more races left for them on the surface.
“You either have to prepare them for a winter campaign or not – it’s hard to justify keeping a horse on the go when there are only one or two races likely to suit. As far as I can tell there is only one handicap scheduled for horses rated above 85 at Southwell this spring.”
Tipping competition, day three
We have a new name at the top of the leaderboard, lcprestes, who has hardly ever played this game before, rocketing there with O’Crotaigh (20-1) and Aubrietia (9-2) yesterday. No1octoberfest had the same double and is now second, while Kalaharikoning and BearRides were the only others to find O’Crotaigh. Chris1623, Flossnme, factormax and palace55 all paired Aubrietia with Winds And Waves (4-1).
Today, we’d like your tips, please, for these races: 3.30 Carlisle, 3.50 Ludlow, 4.35 Carlisle.
This week, Stan James are offering another £25 ante-post bet on a race of your choosing at this year’s Cheltenham Festival.
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 already joined in this week, you can 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.
For terms and conditions click here.
Good luck!
Standings after day two
lcprestes +23.12
no1octoberfest +20.50
Kalaharikoning +17.62
BearRides +15
factormax +12.62
Flossnme +10
waltersobchak +8.50
moidadem +7.62
orso +7.12
chris1623 +7.12
72luca +5.62
paudi051 +5
curlycov +4.50
palace55 +4.50
SmokingGun1 +3
SussexRH +2.12
Fixxxer +2.12
TwoChainz +2.12
WalthamstowLad +2.12
MISTERCHESTER +2.12
mmmdanish +2.12
chiefhk +1.62
Ellandback -0.50
slackdad38 -0.50
Mulldog -0.50
tanias -0.50
TGolden86 -0.50
Blitzwing -0.50
jaygee1 -0.50
JahLion -0.50
GForce1 -0.50
scandalous -0.50
William36 -0.50
Ormrod76 -0.50
TL127 -0.50
ps4999 -0.50
Shrewdette -1
Dangalf -3.38
NYStadium -3.38
Lindsey6677 -3.38
noodlearms -3.38
VolleVlug -3.38
melonk -3.38
Neil Harris -3.38
Harrytheactor -3.38
captainconan -3.38
SMcSwollenhead -3.38
chrisjh007 -3.38
carl31 -3.38
brendandanger -3.38
Esherhammer -3.38
millreef -3.38
CluelessWhisper -6
Toptrapper -6
JimmyDeuce -6
glavintoby -6
Copshaw -6
Sportingbest -6
john987 -6
fatfrank29 -6
Thewrongtree -6
shears39 -6
TheVic -6
paragoncup -6
ToffeeDan1 -6
iainqos -6
DrSativa -6
goofs -6
hegman -6
lindemans -6
Viejo -6
wiggy12 -6
tuga79 -6
Tampabay -6
dirtynorthernbastard -6
TCtiger -6
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