Alan Thomson’s Racing Tips: Harwood can make light work of heavy ground

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ALAN THOMSON, formerly Racing Editor of the Daily Record, has today joined our successful tipping team and we're delighted to have him on board.

Alan, a lifelong devotee of the turf, has for many years contributed a weekly Eyecatchers blog at attheraces.com and will be bringing the wealth of his knowledge to the MrFixitsTips site with daily horse racing tips. Today he starts by marking our cards in races from Pontefract and Bath.

PONTEFRACT survived a 6.30am inspection and with the track officially soft, heavy patches the need to dig out mudlarks is glaringly obvious.

There will be a stack of non-runners but HARWOODS VOLANTE (5.10) has proven winning form on a deep surface and should stand his ground.

I’ve had a decent ew punt on Harwoods Volante at 15-2 this morning as that looks too big a price. He wasn’t so good on the all-weather at Newcastle last time over seven furlongs but previously ran two crackers at Hamilton behind Glenrowan Rose and Sharp Defence respectively, both over today’s 6f trip. Stall 10 would normally be a poor draw but on heavy ground the field usually tack over to the stands’ rail, so it could work in his favour.

Cosmic Chatter is another with winning form on soft and is sitting on a good mark these days if recapturing his old sparkle.

VENTURA SECRET (5.40) should go close in the finale, having edged out Keith Dalgleish’s in-form filly Whatsthemessage at Carlisle last month. Tim Easterby’s gelding led two out before being overhauled at Thirsk and aggressive tactics could have a few of his rivals in trouble some way out.

There is also rain about at Bath and punting opportunities look limited. INGLEBY MACKENZIE (3.00) lacks a turn of foot but he meets a poor bunch in the 1m 6f handicap. Mick Channon’s gelding beat a modest rival at Doncaster and finished second at Thirsk last Friday. He was only beaten a length by Uber Cool at Catterick (good to soft) earlier last month and the winner scored again at Thirsk on Saturday when accounting for Northwest Frontier in a decent Class 4 contest.

Money for unexposed maiden Murchison River would be interesting on his handicap debut, while High Wells shouldn’t be far away, although he disappointed behind a lowly 54-rated winner at Salisbury last time.

Recommendations

• Pontefract 5.10 – HARWOODS VOLANTE 9-2 (Coral, Bet365)
• Pontefact 5.40 – VENTURA SECRET 9-4 (William Hill)
• Bath 3.00 – INGLEBY MACKENZIE 9-4 (William Hill)

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