Friday’s Racing Tips – Tom Symonds’ long trip up to Sedgefield will be worth it with Plantaroma

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Rare Clouds was very weak in the market and did get tired very quickly after travelling nicely into contention turning for home. 

The Skelton horse ran a good race to finish second at Market Rasen on his second handicap start, but the only horse in the lineup to have previously won got the job done. Jikala was tiring when making a complete mess over the latter fences under Charlie Deutsch. He jumped perfectly up until that point, but I think the writing was on the wall approaching that fence.

Rizzel's Tips

Intimate 7/4 – Sandown 1.23

I tipped up Mount Tempest when he won this race last year, so he would have been aimed at the back-to-back for the Skelton's and has to be heavily respected. However, I have been swayed into backing Venetia's Intimate who is making his chasing debut.

My thought process came down to a process of elimination of the other horses and thinking that Intimate was worth a shout. Mount Tempest was winning this race off a 8lb lower mark, he showed he can win off higher as he followed up with a win off 121 and was competitive off higher marks than what he is running off today, but I think he is prone to an improver. Calgary Tiger will take Mount Tempest on for the lead, and I have a soft spot for Calgary Tiger, but I think he is much better on a sounder surface and a less stamina-demanding track. Invincible Nao is a decent horse who had a productive year last season but he is better over further and this will be a pipe-opener, which then left me with Mint Gold and Intimate. Lucinda's horse has to be respected as they travelling a very long way with their runner and he has fitness on his side, and despite him hovering around a winning mark, I think he hasn't got too much in hand of the handicapper.

With that being said, I was left with Venetia's horse who has to prove his fitness and that he can jump a fence. We've seen that Venetia's horses are well drilled on their first start over fences, which was showcased for us with yesterday's selection, but his only error was enough to end his chances of winning. I'm hoping that fences can be the making of this horse as he showed on his last start in March that he relishes soft ground, and that he stays further than today's trip, so the likely fast pace will set it up nicely.

Hoe Joly Smoke 5/2 (2pt) – Sandown 3.03

Despite this race being as competitive as it is, I really do like the chances of Hoe Joly Smoke despite him having to prove he stays 3m strong enough on a testing track on testing ground, but I think he is worth a chance.

He was mightily unlucky not to win at Uttoxeter last time out when bumping in Resplendent Grey, who has since franked the form in a Listed race by finishing a close second to the smart Hyland. Hoe Joly Smoke made a mess of the final two fences, but up until that point he looked the likely winner of the two. That was his first race over fences and with that experience that would have done him the world of good, but also that was his first start of the season, so his fitness will have come along nicely since.

His handicap mark of 120 is definitely on the low side. His form over hurdles was cracking last year, especially the last two races which saw him finish 3rd/16 and 2nd/12, with the final start being over 3m, which showed he can stay this trip and compete at a decent level as the winner was a very progressive horse who stays very strongly.

If Moroder wins (tipped up last time out) I will not be impressed.

Plantaroma 6/5 (2pt) – Sedgefield 12.35

Similar to the above race, I am confident of a big run from the Tom Symonds horse, Plantorama.

Tom is a great trainer, he had a cracking couple of seasons a few years ago, but since then he has not had the ammunition to compete against the other yards, that doesn't mean he isn't a capable trainer, and he has proven that this season and quite noticeably in the last fortnight where he has had three winners. Not only has he had three winners, but his horses who aren't winning, are running well in defeat, so that shows he is placing them well, and I think this rare runner at Sedgefield (zero runners at the track in the last five years) is an eye-catching horse with good form.

This novice race has a couple of horses with decent form, but I don't think they are outstanding claims. This mare hailing from the Tom Symonds yard has a good runner-up finish to Royal Infantry, who is trained by Dan Skelton and won a Class 2 hurdle at Haydock in easy style the other day, recording an RPR of 131. I'm not saying for one minute that this horse is in the same league as that horse, but with her receiving weight from nearly every horse in the race, she was a big player.

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