Racing tips: Molly Ollys Wishes to shoulder a penalty and show her class at Wetherby

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Friday was a blank day, and that sums up the form of recent weeks where it's been very hit-and-miss. It's probably fair to say both ran below expected, especially the Alan King Juvenile hurdler, but that's the risk you take at this part of the season where the form is quite unknown.

Wetherby 2:25

Carrying top weight of 11st 6lbs in this isn't an ideal situation, but I believe MOLLY OLLYS WISHES has more than enough class to defy the penalty and win this race as she did 12 months ago.

If truth be told I think last year's renewal was better than this, and when you go through the runners, this doesn't look particularly strong. The horses who would have to improve to win this have all had a run, which is a definite advantage for them, whereas my selection and the other horse carrying a penalty, Martello Sky, arrive at this without a prep run under their belt. However, I don't think it will be that much of a hindrance for MOW who has competed in better races than this, and this would've always been the goal for the start of the season, so should arrive in good condition, as you'd expect from a Dan Skelton runner.

I think that this horse is in a different class to this field, especially now she's back running against the same-sex horse, as shown by winning the last five times she's been against mares. She tends to struggle when going against the boys, but that's not a surprise for mares unless they are just on a different level like Honeysuckle.

Wetherby 3:00

I am hoping that Dan Skelton has a good day today as I'm siding with another of his runners in the shape of PROSCHEMA.

Proschema was a good flat horse before coming to Dan Skelton's yard a few years ago and has since become a fairly useful hurdler, shown by his current rating of 143. He has been questioned over his stamina over this kind of trip on a regular basis, and though I think he might be better over slightly shorter, on a flat track like Wetherby he should be okay.

He finished 2nd in this race last year, arguably travelling the best before finding Indefatigable too strong for him in the finish. Both horses take their chances again in this race but meet on different terms. The mare is now only 1lb better off, rather than the 7lb she was last year, and considering I think these two are the ones to keep an eye on, I think the weight difference this year could be enough to sway it in Proschema's favour.

Sporting John is the highest-rated horse in the race, but surely he is being aimed at something in the long run like the Pertemps Final like he was last year until suffering a setback, so I can't imagine he would be fit and firing for this. But if he is, then he's obviously the one they all have to beat, I'd be worried about the form of the yard though.

Wetherby 5:20

A horse who could be a decent price for this contest is ASHINGTON who is now trained by Mark Walford.

He is a good horse on his day, and shouldn't be underestimated by carrying a heavy weight. There could be some more progressive hurdlers in the race, which is normal for a Saturday handicap race, but I think Ashington could run a big race.

The booking of Harry Cobden catches the eye, even though he is 0/1 for the yard (only run resulting in a 2nd placed finish), it's still noticeable to get the services of a leading jumps jockey for a Northern yard.

Mark Walford has made a very good start to the jumps season, operating at a 24% SR, including a 22% in the past fourteen days. Also, one thing I like with this horse is that Mark Walford has given him a flat run before his return to jumps, which has clearly been used to get his fitness levels up, which makes me believe this race has been the plan and they've tried their best to get him as close to as perfect as possible.

Ascot 1:30

If you're not having a punt in this race, I'd be fairly certain that you'd be supporting GOSHEN, as he is a horse that many jumps fans have taken to due to his nutty behaviour and quality level of a racehorse. However, I do think he is worth taking on, on chase debut and the one I have opted for is COBBLERS DREAM.

I like this horse and thought he could be fairly smart when Ben Case acquired him at the start of last season. He has gone on to become a good handicapper in his novice hurdle season, with a 2nd placed effort at the Cheltenham Festival being the highlight piece of form.

Cobblers Dream tends to run well when fresh, so the time away from the track isn't necessarily a concern as it is often the right time to catch him. Also, I think the larger obstacles is what will be the making of him, with him looking like a chaser and having a decent pedigree (related to a Norwegian National horse).

As for the others:

Goshen – Wasn't the best jumper as a hurdler, and this seems like the last chance saloon for him to win a Grade 1 and seems like a desperate move. If I'm honest, I'm quite worried about this move by connections, but I hope I'm wrong.

Samarrive – Saves the best form for Sandown.

Gowel Road – Didn't exactly make the best of impressions on chase debut and can be ignored in this.

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