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To not have a single winner on Friday when both horses arguably should have won is a painful pill to swallow.
Harry Skelton has to be up there as one of the worst jockeys at holding his horses up.
You've seen it numerous times a season when Harry Skelton arrives on the bridle with a couple of obstacles to jump, but the horse clatters the fence/hurdle and then doesn't win. When it happens this often, it can't be a coincidence, and he has to be doing something wrong. Whether that's not judging the flight and spotting a stride, or the fact that he tries to pop over rather than asking for a big one.
Hoe Joly Smoke would've won that race if he didn't clatter the second from home. Easy to say as he found little after, but he lost a lot of momentum, and it knocked the stuffing out of the horse.
Came From Nowhere was given a shocking ride for the second time in a row. Lorcan Williams needs to get his act together, or he will not be riding this horse. This horse is very smart, and I don't understand what his thought process was when giving the winner as much space as he did. The best horse in the race lost.
Sans Bruit 7/2 (1pt) – Ayr 1.10
There are two ways to look at Sans Bruit's recent run at Aintree. One of them is that he wasn't 100% ready for the race, and the other is that this race is too soon after the Aintree race. Obviously, I'm hoping that it's the former.
Sans Bruit ran a good race at Aintree in an attempt to win that same race for the third year in a row. He got tired late into the race, so maybe he was 5-10% short of what he needed to be at to win. If that race has brought him on in terms of fitness, he has a superb chance in today's race.
I think this race is an easier assignment than last week's race, and if they allow him to get to the front and Harry can dictate the pace of the race, he has to be the most likely winner. He has run well at this track in the past, and it's also a flat track with a long run-in, sharing similarities to Aintree.
The handicapper has dropped him a further pound from last week, which is an added bonus. With Matata being in the race, it means Sans Bruit runs off 10st 2lbs, which means Harry Cobden will have to watch what he's eating, as this is his lowest racing weight.
Tutti Quanti 10/3 (1pt) – Ayr 2.20
If the ground didn't change to soft and heavy in places, I would have taken a chance on Tellherthename, but since it has changed, I think Tutti Quanti has a nice chance.
Paul Nicholls' horse is a young and progressive hurdler who does his best work on a testing surface. He has already won a couple of nice races this season, including the William Hill Hurdle (Grade 3), where he won it by a landslide.
On the back of his emphatic win at Newbury, they decided to go for the Champion Hurdle, and you couldn't blame them for taking their chances. The ground was quick at Cheltenham, which was never going to suit, and he didn't cover himself in glory. Despite finishing 20L behind the winner, the Racing Post still deemed that to be worthy of a rating of 153, so they didn't think it was too bad.
Back in a handicap race, he should be able to find this an easier assignment. It won't be easy, as he is running off top weight from a rating of 151.
GambleAware