Rizz managed to land a lovely 6/1 winner on Thursday, with his sole selection winning under a cool and confident front-running ride by jockey Jack Quinlan.
Rizz was a tad concerned with the horse drifting out to 12/1, but there is nothing sweeter when they drift and land. Hopefully those that followed managed to get the best odds.
Cairnzy's Tips
Valiant Force 1/1 – Dundalk 4.50
My first selection of the day comes from the meeting at Dundalk, and although the advised price of even money is hardly something to rave about, I'm still happy enough to get involved.
Current favourite Valiant Force is my selection for this contest and this previous 150/1 winner of the Norfolk Stakes should be tough to beat in these circumstances. My selection brings by far the best form to this contest which includes chasing home Mick Applebys Big Evs in the Breeders Cup Juvenile Sprint. Valiant Force has been up and down in terms of consistency since returning home but his previous two outings have come at this track and there was plenty to like about both of those appearances.
The first of those Dundalk runs came at the start of October last year in which he got the better of the reopposing Harry's Bar by three-quarters of a length. That run was pretty much a confidence booster as Valiant Force was then entered into the Group 3 Mercury Stakes, a race in which he ran a blinder in to finish half a length down in fourth in what was an action packed finish. He finished ahead of some nice types in that contest, including Archie Watsons Albasheer and David O'Mearas Star Of Lady M. A repeat performance or anything of resemblance will see Adrian Murray's charge hard to beat.
Coastal Rock 5/1 – Bangor 3.50
Current market leader Visual Impact is interesting for trainer Lucinda Russel and holds strong claims with a 7lb claimer on board but it's Olly Murphy's Coastal Rock that I fancy in this contest and at 5/1 could offer some value with the more experienced Sean Bowen in the saddle.
Interestingly, my selection has been trained by multiple trainers these last few years and notably, his most recent trainer was Lucinda Russell, who, as already mentioned, runs the current market favourite in this contest. He only ran the one time for Lucinda before switching hands to Olly Murphy in October of last year, and his form for Olly Murphy has been up and down in that time. He was sent of favourite on his debut for Olly Murphy but finished a well-beaten five of five at Ayr. The trip at Ayr came over 2m and after watching a replay I would say it was a trip far too short. Connections opted to send him up in trip on his following outing, which resulted in Coastal Rock come from off the pace to win under a strong finishing Sean Bowen ride. Coastal Rock was pulled up in his most recent outing, with some sketchy jumping being the main factor in his below-par performance.
Connections have opted to step Coastal Guard up in trip further to 3m which I think could be the right move given his strong finishing effort from two runs back. He will of course need to brush up on his jumping but I'll take the risk he comes on for his new trainer Olly Murphy whose horses are running well at present ( 20% SR in last 14 days ).
