Racing tips: Three miles looks the perfect trip for Fantastic Lady

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The two selections at Bangor on Wednesday drifted like a barge and didn't end up winning. I thought they both ran well considering the extent to which they did drift. The Irish raider was around 12/1 and finished in the places, whereas Minella Bobo made a good attempt to make all but was either outclassed or still lacking fitness as he jumped great and had no excuses in that department.

Newcastle 3:25

The recent winning Return Fire will be well supported as he won nicely last time out at Hexham but has gone up 8lbs for that performance and I think though he has a clear chance of winning, I'm going to be siding with the bottom weight, MATCHMAKING.

I'm a big fan of Laura Morgan, I think she is a cracking trainer and does very well with improving horses, especially when they go over fences, which is evident from the SR from hurdle and chase over the last five seasons. Matchmaking made a good impression at Kelso on chase debut a couple of weeks ago, travelled like the best horse in the race despite not jumping the best, but was worn down in the final furlong. That was his first start for the yard and his first start in 124 days, so there's plenty of improvement likely to come from that run, if not then I'd be extremely surprised. I was impressed with the way he travelled through the race more than anything, and when a horse travels like that and doesn't put it to bed it either means they didn't stay the trip, or their fitness wasn't good enough and it has to be the second as he was a winner over 3m 1f over hurdles when trained for Caroline Bailey.

Return Fire is priced up at around EVS at the time of writing and I think Matchmaking is a good alternative to take on the favourite, with Brian Hughes doing the steering, which is rarely a negative.

Market Rasen 3:15

I like Mares' races, especially when it gets into Class 1 company as you can often find some good value as for some reason a lot of them get overlooked and some can find a big jump of improvement when their rating suggests they should have no chance. Unfortunately, this time I've stumbled across the favourite which I like, which is a surprise to see FANTASTIC LADY installed as the market favourite, as I was expecting slightly bigger odds.

I like the idea from Nicky Henderson and connections to put her up in trip as based on her run at Kempton where she finished 3rd, this trip looks like the correct career move. She was staying on nicely that day when running in a very good Grade 2 with the likes of Pic D'Orhy (winner), Millers Bank (2nd, since won a Grade 1) and Minella Drama (4th). They went for the Topham race over the National fences at Aintree the time after which didn't go to plan as she unseated James Bowen. They decided to give her a good summer break and now returns nice and fresh for her campaign over fences for the second season. The time away from the track is a concern but not as much as it probably would've been if it was a couple of weeks ago as Nicky Henderson is starting to find his feet again with his form. He went through a patch where he was getting the occasional winner, but nothing like we'd expect and horses weren't running great first time out.

I'm fairly confident of a big run and if she's fit and ready I think she could take some stopping if jumping soundly. You have some good horses in this though, who shouldn't be overlooked like Zambella, who is definitely better over shorter and for that reason is why she isn't the favourite. Precious Eleanor represents the yard who has won this race two years in a row with Chilli Filli, so knows what type of horse is required.

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