Racing tips: The weight for age allowance looks deadly on the unexposed Ocean Jewel

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It was a shame to see Greek Order not run on Wednesday, but Truthful was well-supported into odds-on for the Haggas stable and she backed it up with a nice run, even though it did take her a while to pick up, but when she did and she got the front there was no way there were going to catch her.

Leopardstown 5:55 – Ocean Jewel 3/1 (1pt)

I managed to whittle this race down to two runners, but in the end, I decided to side with Ocean Jewel over Mutasarref.

It is often a tough ask for the 3yo's to take on the older horses at this point in the season when they are still developing physically and mentally, but the form this lad showed last time out was a real improvement and I think that shows the levels he has progressed over the winter months from 2 to 3. There is a strong possibility that he wouldn't have been 100% for that run at Naas, and when you consider that was over 6f and he is bred to stay probably a mile, it was a huge performance over a trip which should be on the sharp side. He stayed on well after travelling powerfully behind the winner, so I believe the step up 7f in what will hopefully be a well-run race with the likes of Agartha and maybe Real Appeal forcing the pace, it should set it up for Ocean Jewel who is in receipt of 13lbs from what I deem to be the main threat, Mutasarref.

3/1 seems a fair enough price, even though I was being greedy and hoping for a bit more, but in theory, that's a very nice price and I'm confident that he can handle the step up against the older horses.

Newbury 4:00 – Flying Secret 7/1 (0.5pt EW 4pl)

This is a tough handicap to call, and it might come back to bite me in the behind by not sticking with Top Secret but I think Flying Secret is worth a go up in grade.

Eve Johnson Houghton is a very good trainer, she has started the season off very well and has had 4 winners in the last fortnight, so her horses remain in good form. I thought the run of Flying Secret at Yarmouth in a Class 5 race was very eye-catching, especially the way he chewed up the ground between him and the runaway leader. He won by 0.5L, but it was a much better performance than that would suggest and I think fast ground over 7f will be perfect for him, especially if they go a decent gallop. The form looks decent for a Class 5 race with the fourth-placed horse winning by 12L the next time, and the fifth horse has finished as runner-up on their next two starts, but both of them were easily beaten by Flying Secret.

Charles Bishop isn't taking the ride today, which might be seen as a negative, but I don't think it should be taken that way as Mia Nicholls is on board and she has already ridden two winners for me in recent times. She is still an inexperienced jockey but seems to know what to do tactically, and is well worth the 7lbs she claims. She is 3/9 when riding for Eve this season, and with her claim she makes Flying Secret run off 8st 2lbs, which is a big bonus as this is his first time in a Class 3 race on turf.

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