A whopping seven meetings take place on Saturday, as Andrew Mount provides his top tips across the various cards.
Back his selections with SkyBet’s new customer offer of Bet 5p Get £40 In Free Bets.
Posted: 1:15pm, Friday, April 18th
1.50 Musselburgh – WILTSHIRE LAD (1pt win – 5/1 generally) & THUNDER WONDER (0.5pt e/w, 25-1 Betfair, Paddy Power, 20/1 generally)
WILTSHIRE LAD took a step forward on his handicap debut for Sir Michael Stoute last autumn, landing a 1m Southwell handicap in a first-time visor. The three-year-old has joined bang-in-form Andrew Balding on the retirement of Stoute and we’ve seen plenty of his former inmates do well at the first time of asking for their new yards, notably Jonquil, who won the Greenham for Balding last Saturday and More Thunder, a 10-1 winner for William Haggas in the Saeed Suhail colours at Newmarket on Tuesday. Wiltshire Lad, another owned by Saeed Suhail, has been gelded since that handicap debut win and should have improvement to come for his new handler this year.
It’s early days where the career of THUNDER WONDER is concerned but it’s possible that he’s unsuited to straight courses, hanging left and right when third at Newmarket on his debut before wandering around when sixth at the same venue on his next run. He got off the mark at left-handed Thirsk on his third run before another straight-track flop, this time finishing last of six on his nursery debut at Doncaster. The step up to 1m on a turning track brought improvement at Southwell a couple of weeks ago where his 14-1 third of seven was worthy of an upgrade as he was the only one of the first five home to race up with the pace. He clocked a solid time for that effort and looks over-priced.
2.17 Carlisle – LUCKY SOLDIER (1pt win – 8/1 bet365)
The Nick Alexander-trained LUCKY SOLDIER wouldn’t look an obvious pick for this 2m5f novices’ handicap chase as he trailed home in 11th place in handicap hurdle company at Doncaster last time and now makes his debut over fences. However, his yard’s chase debutants have a useful record when pitched straight into handicap company, landing seven of their 43 starts since the beginning of 2016 for a profit of £11.00 to a £1 level stake at SP (expected winners = 5.09, A/E = 1.38), with those who ran in a handicap hurdle on their latest outing winning seven from 34 (+£20.00). Perhaps more interesting is that the form of his Doncaster 11th of 14 is working out well, with fast-time winner Jukebox Fury following up at Wetherby last week, runner-up Skin Full and third-placed Ca Plane Pour Moi going one-two at Taunton, fifth-placed Glory Heights finishing second by a head in a field of 16 when 8-1 at Ayr and 12th-placed Lizzie Rey recording a 33-1 win at Southwell. Lucky Soldier was beaten by a long way but his sire’s progeny have a superior strike-rate over fences as compared to hurdles and he’s worth a speculative interest.
3.00 Musselburgh – AMERICAN AFFAIR (1pt win -3/1 generally, including bet365 and William Hill)
AMERICAN AFFAIR was a massive improver last year, scoring comfortably on his reappearance over today’s course and distance off a mark of 70 and going on to land the Portland at Doncaster in September off 92. He could only finish 16th of the 25 runners when 11-4 favourite for the Ayr Gold Cup on his final outing but had a terrible draw in stall 4 and actually fared third best of those drawn in single-figure stalls. Tenth-placed Strike Red, best of those drawn very low, won at York on his next start. He could make up into a Group-class sprinter this year and is worth a small bet on his comeback, despite the slight concern that his patient running style could be a disadvantage.
3.35 Musselburgh – WILD WAVES (1pt win – 3/1 bet365, Ladbrokes), AIMERIC (0.5pt e/w – 15/2 Ladbrokes, 7/1 generally) + 0.5pt reversed forecast
WILD WAVES was a huge eyecatcher in the Melrose Handicap at York last August, doing best of the late closers and second best of those drawn high when it was a huge advantage to race prominently from low draws. He was outclassed in the St Leger next time (40-1 sixth) and should have plenty more to offer this term now gelded. He’s a good stats fit for this race – those who finished in the top six last time out, who were in the top six in the weights have landed all six renewals since the prize money was significantly boosted in 2017 (from 28 bets for a profit of £30.50 to a £1 level stake at SP). Add in the proviso that they must have been aged six or younger and rested for more than 12 weeks and the score is six from ten for a profit of £48.50.
AIMERIC also qualifies on the system angle and looks set to appreciate the return to this 1m6f trip after staying on over 1m3f-1m4f in his three runs for Karl Burke. Two of those came on unsuitably soft going and the other in a Listed contest at Kempton. He has a good record on his seasonal debut, recording form figures of 211 (2-3) and, like Wild Waves, has a handy low draw. I’ve backed the pair and played them in a reversed forecast too.
Join our 20k+ subscribers to receive the latest horse racing news, offers, and expert tips directly in your inbox — 100% free!
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets
1.50 Musselburgh – WILTSHIRE LAD (1pt win – 5/1 generally) & THUNDER WONDER (0.5pt e/w, 25-1 Betfair, Paddy Power, 20/1 generally)
2.17 Carlisle – LUCKY SOLDIER (1pt win – 8/1 bet365)
3.00 Musselburgh – AMERICAN AFFAIR (1pt win -3/1 generally, including bet365 and William Hill)
3.35 Musselburgh – WILD WAVES (1pt win – 3/1 bet365, Ladbrokes), AIMERIC (0.5pt e/w – 15/2 Ladbrokes, 7/1 generally) + 0.5pt reversed forecast
Andrew Mount’s Horse Racing Tips – Saturday, 19th April
Andrew’s Angles – How to Find Early-season Profits with Two-Year-Olds
With Cheltenham and Aintree behind us I’m going to turn my attention to the Flat turf season and attempt to identify some profitable angles. Two-year-old races can be a turn-off for punters at this time of year as we’re usually dealing with a host of unraced horses but there are plenty of winner-finding angles… Foaling…
Tue 08 Apr 2025Looking For More Racing Info? Check Out Our Racecards & Top Tips Sections
Make sure you’re following us on all our social media platforms to keep up to date with all the latest horse racing news and the best tips.