Paul Jacobs’ Sunday Racing Tips
14:10 Southwell – Enthused
14:20 Bath – Silent Flame
15:20 Bath – Eagle Court
15:40 Southwell – Duc De Kent
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
14:10 Southwell – Enthused
Getting a horse well handicapped is an absolute art, and as punters if we cannot identify this then, we need to have a good look at ourselves in the mirror and try a wee bit harder – see Langer Dan and the shrewd Mr D Skelton esq at Cheltenham. And so in this race we have a cracking example of getting a horse back down to the right mark and ready to rock and roll again for a gold medal.
The likes of Robusto and Royal Deeside have obvious claims as does the hard working Percy Willis, but James Owen has set up ENTHUSED nicely for this, following a cracking season over hurdles, as a winner off marks of 91, 100, 104, 107 and 109. Back on the level he has been given two starts, over a hugely insufficient mile at Lingfield (Class 4), and then a class two at Newmarket, a race in which I had more chance of winning on two legs, yet he still finished only three and three quarter lengths by the winner Hafeet Alain when 10th of the 17 runners.
Those runs were both off 81, and he now runs off 79 in this 0-85 handicap, over a quite obviously more suitable trip. I wonder if he will be a significant market mover???
14:20 Bath – Silent Flame
Several of these low grade sprinters have a good records around here, but most of them are surely in the back pocket of the handicapper and I’m rightly going to push them asunder and play elsewhere to try and find the value. Of those C & D players the one I respect most is Apache Star, partnered up with brilliant Billy Loughnane, as he is so well treated, but then so too is my selection SILENT FLAME. All through the majority of last season this daughter of Al Kazeem ran in some fair class four fillies’ handicaps with her best run being a second of 11 behind As If By Chance on fast ground at Windsor off a rating of 79.
She had a low key return to action when last of nine back at the Berkshire track, but held up right at the back, she had no chance of making late headway off a slack pace. That run should have put her right fitness wise, and with Gina Mangan taking a further 3lbs off her back, she gets the chance to run off 67 here in a lower grade event.
15:20 Bath – Eagle Court
The Somerset track is one of my favourite punting venues despite the idiosyncratic nature of the course. Several jockeys that were not accustomed to the course initially have told me they thought they needed to sling shot coming down the hill on the far side as they turn for home, but completely misjudged the curves of the track as the finish is against the grain and their mounts have ‘died’ in the final three quarters of a furlong.
Anyway onto the race in question. Squeezebox was obviously going the right way in the last back end and is in the right hands to make another jump up the handicap ladder. If he is strong in the market I fancy that the lightly raced son of Slade Power may well be worth a saver behind my pick.
Yes, EAGLE COURT is a huge price (that’s why this is the ‘value’ bets column) but there’s been a pattern of performance from Michael Blake’s charge. Apart from his Pontefract victory on his second career start way back in 2020, he always needed his first run back following a substantial break, beaten 13.5, 13.5, 11.5 and then first time back this season by a mighty 54 lengths. His follow up runs offer a major step forward and this second run is slightly needed. It’s surprising he has hardly raced on a course with a stiff finish since that Ponte win, his two runs at Salisbury are among his best runs.
15:40 Southwell – Duc De Kent
I think it will be obvious to many that the brilliant and versatile Tritonic is the most likely winner of this very valuable two mile handicap as he warms up for another crack at the Ascot Handicap Stakes at the Royal meeting. I may well back DUC DE KENT in a reverse forecast, alongside the seven-year-old in an each-way single, as I think the ‘Duc’ is absolutely crying out for a test of stamina.
Since coming over from France this time last year, Ian Williams has followed David O’Meara’s route of acquiring a lot of nicely bred horses on the relative cheap. He’s raced mainly over an extended mile to 10 furlongs. I was at Wolverhampton when he was fifth of eight behind Intinso over a mile and a half in a class two and he was just pushed out down the stretch staying on in eye catching fashion. This is a radical step up in trip, but I think he is ready for it, even though his breeding suggests otherwise but he looks the most likely source of a shock.
Paul Jacobs’ Sunday Racing Tips
14:10 Southwell – Enthused
14:20 Bath – Silent Flame
15:20 Bath – Eagle Court
15:40 Southwell – Duc De Kent
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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