Racing tips: Darkness will improve O’Meara’s strong record at Ripon

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I still cannot believe Vaucelet has clattered the final fence two years in a row to cost me two wins, he had the race in his hands if he jumped the last and he didn't.

Planned Paradise ran well to finish 3rd in the Perth National race after being off the bridle in the first mile. He is a really slow horse but plugs on, if there was a race over 5m he'd be the king of that race, but unfortunately for him, there isn't.

So Scottish jumped like a fridge the entire way around and didn't complete his race, I wouldn't be wanting to touch him again based on that performance even though I do believe he's on a good mark at the moment.

Punchestown 3:10 – Emancipator 14/1 (1pt EW PaddyPower 5pl)

The horse at the very bottom of the weights is Emancipator, and though he is running 6lbs from out of the weights he still looks to have a huge chance in this race, in my opinion.

I am a big fan of low weights in marathon races like today, and the record in this race suggests that backing a horse towards the bottom of the weights is the way forward with 5 of the last winners being weighted under 10st, which is what Emancipator will be when you take the 7lb claimer into consideration. This horse is still a very lightly raced horse, especially over fences and is 2/2 as a chaser, and though this is a big step up in grade, I think he could be overlooked in this. He won nicely on chase debut and then won in the style of a real staying chaser last time out. He was headed, but battled on bravely and hit the line very hard, which should see today's trip of 3m 7f being right up his street.

Punchestown 5:30 – Seddon 4/1 (1pt B365)

What John McConnell has done with Seddon is nothing short of remarkable, and it showcases what a brilliant trainer he is. This horse was a decent horse when trained by Harry Whittington in England, but had fallen out of form and John has managed to recoup the belief in this horse and turned him into a winning machine over both hurdles and fences.

This lad won the Plate at the Cheltenham Festival and won is quite convincingly as well, and the form of that race looks decent with the 4th finishing 2nd in the Irish National, the 3rd ran well at Aintree as did the 5th and even the 11th won at Aintree. The form literally looks bomb-proof, but that was over fences, but the form of his earlier runs over hurdles looks strong too. Though in a lower grade, the form of his Navan 3rd last September reads well with the 1st and 2nd horses improving 16lbs and 12lbs and Seddon ran well considering that was over 2m, a trip far too short.

Punchestown 6:05 – Quarry Rocco 25/1 (0.5pt EW 4pl)

Pedigrees of a horse are a big thing for bumper races, and looking through the pedigrees in this race, it doesn't look like a vintage race and nothing of note really stands out, so I'll take a chance on a yard that hasn't had a bumper winner in the last five years, but pedigree suits a race like this and that is Quarry Rocco.

He is by Shirocco, a sire who has produced many good jump horses and bumper winners including the likes of Annie Power (3/3 in bumpers), Queens Brook and Mercy Mercy Me. The Dam of this horse was unraced but related to two high-class bumper winners who reached RPRs of 117 and 120 at their best, so there is bumper form in the pedigree and he seems a little too high odds based on that compared to the others in the race.

He won his sole PTP nicely last month and was quickly snatched up by Phillip Rothwell. He won by 12L and the runner-up has since finished second, so it looks like there's substance to that as well.

Sandown 2:15 – Enrilo 8/1 (1pt EW 6pl B365)

The form of Enrilo doesn't look great on paper with more letters than numbers next to his name, but his latest start in February at Kempton was a good run and somewhat of a return to form.

This race has been the plan for some time, so the fact he ran okay at Kempton was an encouraging sign, as it wasn't the main plan for him, as his odds of 25/1 and jockey bookings would've suggested that day, but he finished 6th in a good competitive race and it would've given Paul Nicholls something to go with when prepping him for today's race. Paul has come out and said this has been the “project” for some time and he's tried to get him spot on for today's race, which isn't a surprise considering he won this in 2021 before being disqualified into 3rd for interference. He probably would've won that day if he didn't jump the last like a fridge, and that was off a 6lb higher mark than what he races off today, so I think he comes into this with every chance for a yard and jockey combination who have been winning big races on Saturday's all season long.

Haydock 2:40 – Gregory 5/1 (1pt)

I mentioned pedigrees earlier on in the bumper, and speaking of pedigrees, Gregory could be a very smart horse being out of a Galileo mare and is by Golden Horn.

Backing horses on debut isn't my type of thing unless I think the value is there and I see an opportunity and I think the odds of 5/1 could be far too big for this son of Golden Horn. He is a half-brother to his new stablemate, Lionel, who was a very good horse last year when trained by David Menuisier, that horse was very effective on soft ground but was by Lope De Vega so that was to be expected, with this lad being by Golden Horn he should enjoy the good ground he gets today. Lionel is rated 109 and won a Listed race last year.

I think the market is focussed too much on Maxident who was a runaway winner at Leicester, producing an RPR of 91 on debut, but what did he beat? he also encounters good ground today instead of heavy.

Ripon 5:15 – Darkness 4/1 (2pt)

One of my cliff horses from last year was Darkness, I followed him through many competitive handicaps and I thought there was a horse in there who would win a big race at some point, but he was given so many stinking rides and his win never came. I left him alone on seasonal reappearance as I thought he might've needed the run, but if he didn't he would go close, and go close is what he did.

This race should be perfect for him, he gets soft ground, a mile instead of 7f and is weighted to run very well considering he has won off higher marks in the past in France on soft ground. Danny Tudhope takes the ride instead of Jason Watson and this is a race that David O'Meara has done very well in recent years, winning 3 of the last 9 renewals.

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