Racing Tips – The Goat Can Return To Form At Epsom

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It was an incredibly frustrating Monday with all three of my selections finishing in second place. After the second selection placed, I knew right away it was one of those days.

Bonza Boy jumped out to the right on about 95% of his fences, throwing away the race in the process. Lightening Company simply bumped into an improver on the day.

Classic King once again travelled the best throughout and, at one point, was trading as short as 1/8 in play. He didn't find as much as I expected when he was asked to go and seal the race, although two poor jumps towards the end hardly aided his cause either.

I'm sticking with the meeting at Epsom for Tuesday's racing.

Chief Little Rock 11/10 – 14:45 Epsom Downs

I'm backing the O'Brien and Moore combo to get the job down with Chief Little Rock.

He ran four times as a juvenile, finishing a decent second on debut when beaten by half a length before returning to the same track next time out to go one better.

O’Brien then pitched him into the Group Two Beresford Stakes at Curragh which saw him finish second. After the Curragh run he went on to finish runner-up again in the Group Three Autumn Stakes at Newmarket.

His most recent run at Newmarket is probably the strongest piece of form on offer, by any horse in this race. My selection was beaten by Charlie Applebys' Ancient Wisdom, who has since went on to win the Futurity Trophy at Doncaster.

The Goat 4/1 – 15:55 Epsom Downs

The Goat looked to be set for an impressive season last year after he bolted up by 12 lengths at Goodwood which saw him go up a whopping 12lb.

However, it has been pretty much downhill for him since the Goodwood run, as he followed it up with three really below-par performances. Two sixth-place finishes at York and a last-place finish at Doncaster showed a shadow of the horse we saw at Goodwood.

I'm not sure what exactly went wrong with him, as he is clearly a horse with ability. At a guess, I'd say the decision to step him up in the trip hasn't worked. Some racing pundits seem to think he is a horse who needs soft ground, but I'm not totally convinced of that excuse just yet.

He has since been gelded and dropped back to 1m4f, which was the same distance he won over at Goodwood. Oisin Murphy rides him tomorrow for trainer Andrew Balding and the pair have a decent strike rate when they work together.

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