If you’re a Liverpool fan, you’re probably still nursing a sore head reading this.
If you’re not a Liverpool fan, the pain of their boasting has caused you means it’s also likely still your head is spinning reading this.
Anyway, here’s three crafty racing selections for this Irish bank holiday Monday.
Brighton – 14:30
This small field Class 5 maiden probably doesn’t jump out at you in your Racing Post, but at the prices, I think the bookies have got this one wrong. Archie Watson’s oddly-named My Motivate Girl will likely open up at a touch of odds-on for this contest, but I’m not particularly sure why.
This filly’s only run to date, two weeks ago, seemed a decent debut on the formline, but it also screamed that she needs at least six furlongs as she just doesn’t have the gears to land a sprint like this early in her career.
She was dreadfully outpaced in the early stages as they went a fierce gallop around Leicester, and while the length losing distance reads favourably, but she was never getting there, albeit staying on strongly to close.
Faldetta for Eve Johnston will likely be twice the favourite’s price, but her trip over 6f last time out suggested she might want the minimum distance. She lost a length due to being carried wide at a crucial moment in the race, just as she was getting into top gear.
The interest for me here, though, lies with Bacchalot who will likely improve for her two career starts, when just two lengths behind Faldetta in that race at Chepstow. She seemed every bit the five-furlong specialist and clearly will benefit from this drop back in trip.
Wolverhampton – 18:45
I could guide you through the various runners in this race, as the early betting will indicate it’s wide open, but it doesn’t appear to be a case of well-handicapped fillies landing in the same listing together.
It just looks like oddsmakers are over-thinking this contest, as Always A Drama should take all the beating here. Charlie Hills is rightly on one here with this four-year-old, and her last two runs have warranted a combined hike of nearly a stone in the ratings. That’s not to say I don’t believe she should have gone up more.
The winning distances of these two runs back in February may not seem a lot in hindsight, but she was thrown in as a 4/6 SP favourite on her last run, squeezing through the tiniest of gaps to win well in the end.
Of the back of an extended rest, there’s no reason to believe she hasn’t got a lot of improvement left in her for a more than capable stable.
Windsor – 19:00
The 77-rated Gambon and the hilariously-named Meghan Sparkle will be enough to see Ricochet remain a shade of odds-against for this contest, when he really shouldn’t be.
True, Gambon ran in some nice races before landing at Winsdor on a Monday evening, and yes, Meghan Sparkle does represent a really powerful yard who rarely have a bad one, but the form here means there’s only one winner.
Richocet was a beaten favourite last time out, and that was after a fairly big gamble which saw his morning price shrink from 11/4 right into 13/8.
Nicola Currie just got her fractions wrong the last day, and one would expect she won’t be as cautious in his positioning this time out.
He’s probably a grade above this, and it’s a good time to get on now before you realise this after the race.
Scoot over to PaddyPower.com now for all the latest racing odds