Saturday's lucky 15 bet wasn’t a great return with only one selection winning from the four.
The selection that won was the short-priced Kalpana. I mentioned I was a big fan of that horse. Kalpana only got up to win by a short margin, but I’m looking forward to seeing where connections go with him next.
Bai Tong 11/10 – Ripon 2.47
I do like to add a short-priced runner in my lucky 15 bets, and I’ve done well the last few threads in picking a winner when it came to choosing a shorty.
This one, however, comes with its risks, but I’m willing to throw the dice. Favourite backers were let down with Bai Tong last time out when he was sent off at 8/11 on debut but faded away to finish only 5th of 6 runners.
Karl Burke is a shrewd trainer with his youngsters, and the fact that he was so short in the market last time out tells me they were expecting a much better performance. I’m hoping he’ll come on for the recent racing experience and take a significant step forward from his debut effort. Notably, the form has been boosted from that run also.
Mind Those Steps 4/1 – Hamilton 3.45
I’ve opted to take on the George Boughey-trained favourite in this race with Mind Those Steps. The decision to do so could come back and bite me, but I thought Mind Those Steps had a great chance and at a more attractive price.
I thought the debut performance from Mind Those Steps was a nice effort on debut. Don’t get me wrong, he was quite green throughout the contest, which is to be expected at the best of times, but when the penny dropped, I thought he stayed on quite nicely to take third spot. He’s a nice bred sort out of Pinotubo, and he should have learnt plenty from that first run.
Royal Bay Cen 10/3 – Naas 4.56
Again, I’m taking on a market principle in this contest. This time, I’ve opted to take on the Aiden O’Brien charge in Charles Darwin. I really like Charles Darwin, he’s come on bundles recently and has some entries for valuable races at this year's Royal Ascot. With that said, I don’t think he’s bulletproof, and Royal Bay Cen looked like another exciting prospect and a worthy alternative at a better price.
Originally trained in France, Royal Bay Cen made the transfer to Jonny Murtagh back in April. He won on debut for his new yard in impressive fashion at Cork when bolting clear to win by 9L. That was a listed contest, but he could hardly have done it any easier. I think he can build again on that effort, and the better ground, I think, will see him in even better light.
Okavango Delta 11/2 – 5.05
I had a glance through the jumps card at Stratford, and most of the races have very short-priced favourites. The one horse at a reasonable price that caught my eye was Okavango Delta.
My selection has made the journey from Northumberland for trainer Paul Robson, and he has also gone ahead and booked champion jockey Sean Bowen for the ride.
He hasn’t been seen since a disappointing effort last December, so race fitness may be an issue, but I don’t feel Robson would send him here and book Bowen if he didn’t feel his charge was in with a chance of winning. Notably, Okavango Delta has won fresh before ( last spring ). My selection stays further than this advertised distance of 2m, so stamina shouldn’t be an issue either. He looks like an interesting runner on the card.
GambleAware