Thanks to Cairnzy for covering me over the last couple of days.
I had some things pop up, which meant I couldn't do Tuesday or Wednesday's racing, but Cairnzy came in last minute to ensure you had a racing thread.
With the recent bad form, it was probably good to get a small break away from the world of racing to reset.
Physique 15/2 (0.5pt EW, 4pl) – Newmarket 4.10
There is some decent racing on Thursday at Newmarket. With decent racing comes competitive fields, and this race is no different. A few stood out, but I eventually decided to give Physique another chance after letting me down when being a previous tip.
I tipped up Physique in a Newmarket handicap a couple of months back. He finished seventh that day, and I was very disappointed with that performance, but since then, he has bounced back with two more solid efforts. It turns out that he was never going to win that Newmarket race as the winner was More Thunder, who was unlucky at Royal Ascot last week. On his run after, he was beaten by Miss Information by 0.75L, which now looks like solid form as the winner won at Ascot last week. Last time out, he was third on the all-weather at Chelmsford, but it was still a solid effort.
There is a chance that he is handicapped right, and it will be tough to win off this mark, but I do think there is slight room off his official rating of 86.
Given he has only won two times in his career to date, playing him as an each-way bet is definitely the wise move.
Mandana 4/1 (1pt) – Newmarket 4.45
My second and final selection for Thursday is Mandana, who runs in the fillies' mile race.
The eye will definitely be drawn to George Boughey's runner as she is making her handicap debut for powerful owners. My selection is being slightly overlooked as she is trained by the combination of Dr Richard Newland & Jamie Insole, who are better known for their jumps horses.
William Buick in the saddle instantly caught my eye on Mandana. Hollie Doyle and Kieran Shoemark have been the main jockeys that this yard have been using this year. Hollie is at Hamilton, but Kieran is at Newmarket, so seeing them opt for Newmarket maestro William Buick is a positive move.
This filly has been in good form this year. She won on her seasonal reappearance and has been a runner-up on her two starts in handicaps. She lost by a neck in her first handicap, and then finished second to an improver at Leicester. She has a very solid pedigree, being by Persian King and out of a mare who has produced Salateen.
Hopefully, they will go a good gallop, as he pedigree points to her being strong in the stamina section. The yard is going well at the moment. They have had five winners in the last two weeks, so they are clearly placing them in the correct races.
GambleAware