Three meetings take place on Thursday and Andrew Mount looks for profit with his best bets.
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Posted: 7:30am, Thursday, March 6th
4.50 Wincanton – TOONAGH WARRIOR (1pt win, 10-1 generally) & JONGLEUR D’ETOILES (4/1 generally)
TOONAGH WARRIOR’s connections have been experimenting with trip, tactics and headgear this season and it was surprising to see him cut back to 1m7.5f at Ascot on December 20th having kept on into second place over 3m at Southwell just 17 days earlier. The Stuart Edmunds-trained seven-year-old could only finish a 15-length sixth of 11 when 6-1 for a 2m4.5f handicap hurdle at Southwell on his latest outing but the first-time blinkers saw his usual patient tactics abandoned in favour of front-running, which proved most unhelpful as he raced in the ‘swamp’ on the inside rail when it paid to challenge very wide. This sharp right-handed track could suit now returned to 3m and, hopefully, the usual patient tactics will be re-adopted as that should ensure that he stays wide on the better ground. Throw in his yard’s good recent form after an initially poor season and he looks good value at around 16-1.
JONGLEUR D’ETOILES also took the ‘swamp’ route on the inside rail when beaten by almost 20 lengths into third at Southwell last time where he started as the 9-4 favourite. He was also unsuited by racing prominently when it paid to come from off the pace and the winner and runner-up have boosted the form since. Neil Mulholland’s six-year-old won over course and distance three runs back when ridden patiently and is fairly priced to bounce back.
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7.30 Newcastle – STALLONE (1pt win – 10/1 generally)
STALLONE hasn’t scored for almost a year but is 9lb below his last winning mark and his last-time-out 25-1 seventh of ten over 6f here on February 27th was better than it looked. The absence of the usual Newcastle headwind made it desperately difficult for hold-up horses at that meeting and he raced keenly under restraint and got no cover down the middle of the track from his low draw. The Michael Dods-trained veteran moved up to challenge a furlong and half out before weakening in the final furlong, suggesting that the return to tonight’s 5f trip will help. Stall 5 of 8 should ensure that he gets cover from the forecast crosswind (from the far side) and the presence of pace horses in stalls 2 and 3 will hopefully produce a reasonable gallop.
8.30 Newcastle – ATHOLLBLAIR BOY (0.5pt e/w – 17/2 bet365)
This looks a good race to play in as the current favourite Raft Up looked flattered when scoring under a prominent rode here on February 27th (see above). He was well drawn in stall 8 of 9 that day but is out wide in stall 1 of 11 tonight. Pace angle Arlington (stall 10) also looked flattered by his runner-up effort under a forcing ride at that meeting and the one to take advantage could be Nigel Tinkler’s ATHOLLBLAIR BOY (stall 11). He was only one length behind Arlington when patiently ridden in that 6f classified contest and is worth a small each-way interest from what looks the best of the draw, despite his jockey being 0-13 on him.
Andrew Mount’s Best Bets
4.50 Wincanton – TOONAGH WARRIOR (1pt win, 10-1 generally) & JONGLEUR D’ETOILES (4/1 generally)
7.30 Newcastle – STALLONE (1pt win – 10/1 generally)
8.30 Newcastle – ATHOLLBLAIR BOY (0.5pt e/w – 17/2 bet365)
Andrew Mount’s tips for Thursday, 6th March 2025
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