Saturday's Lucky 15 bet turned into a Patent, which seems to be the usual thing – one of the horses was placed; the other two were useless.
Advised bet as a straight win Lucky 15.
Louie The Legend 7/2 – Pontefract 2.25
I thought this race was quite hard to work out. By that I mean deciding whether the horses that are in form have form with substance, enough to put me off from backing a horse returning to form. For the most part, I wasn't sure and was tempted to leave the race alone. After a bit of thinking, Louie The Legend was my play.
Given how well Dylan Cunha has been firing in winners in the last month, it's hard not to believe there is more to come from his three-year-old. Prior to last time out, his form wasn't great, but he turned it on it's head at Nottingham. The money was down last time out, and he won with a fair bit in hand.
Today, he has to answer more questions as he is going back into a Class 5 off a higher mark. Previously, he hasn't been good enough, but a repeat performance of last time out would get him over the line.
Raulin 9/4 – Pontefract 3.25
I was tempted to go with Masekela, who I've tipped up twice this season, but Raulin was too good to leave alone.
Now that I've deserted Masekela, he'll go on and win. However, if luck is on my side, Raulin should be too good for this field. He is a three-year-old, so he has plenty of time to progress. His form from parts of this season brings him into contention in what appears to be a weak race.
He has won off a 4lb lower mark; on that occasion, he made the running. He managed to win with a fair bit in hand that day, so hopefully, they will employ the same tactics from stall 2.
Ventura Express 2/1 – Pontefract 4.25
Elegant Erin has been tipped on the thread a couple of times, including once this year. I think she has a solid chance in this race. However, David Nolan (Paul Midgley's main jockey) switching to Ventura Express has made up my mind for this race.
You'd like to think the jockeys who ride these horses on the gallops know which horse is better off at the weights. Ventura Express has been in and out of form this year, but last time out was a return. He was denied a clear run and was beaten by a horse that put in a performance well above their handicap mark. This horse's handicap mark is 80, which is below his last winning mark of 84. He is a C&D winner.
La Quarite 11/4 – Uttoxeter 5.07
The Uttoxeter card looks like a tough day, and this race isn't exactly easy either. I believe one of the top three in the betting will win, but I envisage the weight of La Quarite being too much for the other two.
Sean Bowen has ridden Crystal Mer on both of his starts for Hughie Morrison. That horse has won once and finished second the other time. He could have easily ridden that horse if he believed that was his best chance of winning, but he opted for La Quarite. Obviously, he could have gone for this horse based on his family ties to Mickey Bowen, but he is going for the jockey championship again, so he's definitely picking what has the best chance of winning.
This horse is 0/12 over hurdles, but his form has been much better since moving to Mickey's yard and going over fences. He won like a short-priced favourite should do last time out, winning by 35L. The fact that they are coming back over hurdles suggests he has no problem with the smaller obstacles, and he should be well-handicapped off a mark of 80.
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