Racing tips: Mercian Omen has the pedigree to get involved on bumper debut

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Bad rides happen all year round and you're bound to be on the receiving end of them a fair amount of times. In my opinion, Harry Skelton gave Heltenham a fairly rubbish ride. I might be talking out of my pocket, but the fact he had him so far off the leader on soft ground and then crept his mount through the field before his ride had nothing left. I'd rather of had him sit in 2nd place all the way round, and apply pressure on the leader and it could've been different.

Budarri ran to form, and nothing can be said other than he wasn't good enough on the day. Though he won his last race and arrived in good form, his previous win came in 2019 so there was always the chance that he wasn't going to repeat the run from before, but I'd say he did. To finish 3rd, finishing behind another recent winner and a well-handicapped horse, I can't complain.

Hereford 2:50

I am a big fan of Venetia Williams and whenever she starts to bang in the winners at the start of the season, the stable can be in very good form for a long time. It took her until the weekend just gone to get her first win of the season, and that was offputting, but since then she has bagged four winners, so goes to show my point which I said.

So with that being said, I will be backing ROBYNDZONE who has to prove his well-being and fitness after a very long time away from the track (800+ days), but he's with one of the best trainers in the business for getting one ready on the back of a layoff.

He hasn't been seen since 2020 and that is going to be a concern for many, but when you have Venetia training him, who has had multiple winners from huge layoffs it's not that much of a concern. I mean, there's always going to be a risk that he is going to need the run, but I don't think this race is massively competitive and at odds of 11/2 or so I think he is worth a bet. This is his first run for the stable since moving from Fergal O'Brien's yard, but when he left he was in good form, winning 2/4 in his first chase races, so there's definite room for winning off today's mark, being so lightly raced and unexposed.

This might sound daft, as I don't think you should attach ground types to trainers, but for whatever reason, Venetia's horses often run extremely well on soft ground. The ground at Hereford is soft and will get further rain, so that could be another positive, especially with the horse having winning form on soft ground. Hereford is a local track to her base, which is a track she does well at.

Wetherby 2:10

This race is competitive and I'd give a chance to every horse in the race, which isn't ideal, but the odds on BREIZH ALKO make him of interest.

For the life of me, I can't see how he is the biggest outsider of the field. He won 2/3 of his last chase races last season, so for one bad run, that means he comes into this race with no chance whatsoever? seems strange to me, but I'm a backer of him so I'll take the extra odds that we wouldn't have gotten if he arrived in this on the back of a hat-trick.

He ran in a Class 2 last time out, which was always going to be a tough assignment, but he was in good form prior to it, and they clearly thought he had a good chance, going off at 5/1. He was pulled up quite early into the race, as he wasn't on a going day. They then said the ground was too dry, which is a fair enough reason. The ground was good-to-soft at the time of racing (so the course said), but the Keighley team believe it was riding quicker than that and the description changed soon after the race, so their argument is valid. He had shown a new lease of life on soft ground the two times before, so clearly appreciated soft underfoot conditions, which is what he should get today.

At the age of 11, he is still a lightly raced horse with not many miles on the clock. I think age has played a part in his price as well, but with just 11 races in his career, he's practically still a baby in his jumps career and surely has more progression to come. He runs off a mark of 110, which is only 1lb higher than his most recent win, and I think he won with more in hand than the 1.25L would suggest.

Fitness could be an issue but I'll take that risk.

Wetherby 3:40

Amy Murphy is a trainer who goes under the radar, she does an amazing job over the jumps and on the flat and her horses are generally overlooked when they run. The odds of MERCIAN OMEN aren't high by any means, but I think that's due to the pedigree of this horse, and I believe he can run a big race based on that as well.

He is a homebred horse by Amy's father, Paul, who has bred some nice types over the years including Mercian Prince and Pendra. The latter is a relation to Mercian Omen and was a horse who won his only race in bumpers back in 2012, winning by 8L. He enjoyed a nice career, winning 6/19 races and being bought out by J P McManus. Mercian King (not prince) is also related to today's selection who produced an RPR of 116 on his sole bumper run, finishing 3rd. Mariah's Legend (half-sister) finished 2nd and 3rd from 3 bumper runs. Tupolev (full brother) only raced once as a racehorse, which was 3rd in a bumper at today's track. For some reason he never returned, but as debuts go that was a good effort, and he was well-supported that day going off 100/30F, producing an RPR of 110.

There are horses in this race who have a decent level of form already and it will be tough to win this on debut, but he could be above average with a nice pedigree and if the money comes we could be in store for a very nice run.

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