Musselburgh and Haydock go live on ITV Racing this Saturday. At a quiet point for racing between the flat and the jumps, Matty Sutcliffe has three value punts to get on side.
1.50 Musselburgh – Livescore Bet Best Odds Daily Royal Mile Handicap (Class 3) (3yo 0-95) – Wiltshire Lad 6/1 1pt WIN
Andrew Balding’s impressive start to the season continues with forty one winners since January and eleven in the last two weeks at the time of writing, and WILTSHIRE LAD can improve that record further. The son of Wootton Bassett steadily progressed for Sir Michael Stoute last season, and Balding has already had a winner come from the Stoute yard in Spanish Voice for the same connections.
He shaped in need of further when beaten six lengths on debut at Doncaster, but that Novice Stakes has worked out seriously well with the winner, New Century, now rated 110 having picked up a Woodbine G1, the second is now rated 90 having won cosily last time out, and the third, Field Of Gold, won the G3 Craven Stakes in commanding fashion.
Wiltshire Lad then ran well from a wide berth at Chester when beaten a length by the 10/11F Seagolaszo who finished the season rated 96 have been beaten a length in the 300k two year old stakes at Doncaster and the form of his Yarmouth fifth worked out well in places with the second winning since, and the third rated 90 having won twice since.
The step up in trip in a first time visor proved the winning oracle, staying on strongly to beat Brindavan who was beaten a length by Invited next time out, and Wiltshire Lad would have the beating of him in that respect.
He’s been gelded over the winter and strikes me as the type to make a better three-year-old, and on the balance of his two-year-old form, he looks to be thrown in off a mark of 83.
2:05 Haydock – Jcb Challenger Two Mile Hurdle Series Final Handicap Hurdle (Series Final) (Gbb Race) (Class 2) (4yo+) – Well Educated 8/1 1pt WIN
WELL EDUCATED’s seven victories have come in the months of May(2), October(2), April(1), May(1) and June (1) suggesting we can essentially draw a line through any of his runs in the thick of the National Hunt season and given he’s only a pound higher than his last success which came in a Kelso class two in May, he’s taken to go well here off a break on preferable good ground.
The form of his length second to Florida Dreams off 2lbs higher last October reads well with the second going in twice since now rated 12lbs higher and the fourth is now rated 21lbs higher having won the Morebattle and the Scottish Champion Hurdle.
His record in fields of seven or under reads 411136113, and the return from a 151 day layoff should be no issue as he’s gone well when fresh in the past.
2:40 Haydock – In Memory Of Ian Chambers Challenger Stayers Hurdle Series Final Handicap Hurdle (Final) (GBB Race) (Class 2) (4yo+) – An Tailliur 9/1 1pt win
It’s last chance saloon for AN TAILLIUR who is balancing on that thin line of ‘plotted’ or ‘regressive’, and I’m hoping the return to Haydock will lean him over the former. He won this race off a 4lbs higher mark in 2022, and the following season he was only beaten four lengths in the Pertemps Final off a 14lbs higher mark.
He has evidently had some issues given his 500 day break off the track prior to returning this season, and while he’d need a big leap of faith on what we’ve seen since, he was never a chaser to my eye and he’s barely been put into his last three contests back over timber. There was some promise in his seventeen length seventh of twelve at Newbury, but that was on unfavourable softer going and this forecast quicker surface back over a winning C&D can only bode well. His record in fields of seven of under over hurdles reads 111, and the O’Neil’s have been amongst the winners of late.
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