Tuesday’s Racing Tips – Cusano can keep the Skelton summer team rolling

It wasn't an ideal start to the month with three of the selections underperforming massively. 

A couple of the selections on Monday were far too keen on the front end, mainly Old Cock, who gave his jockey no chance when falling through the field with a few furlongs to go. Composite wasn't as keen as Old Cock in his race at Windsor, but he did take a pull and it was a surprise to see the winner winning off his current mark as he looked to be in the grips of the handicapper.

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Cairnzy's Tips

Miaswell 11/4 – Hamilton 2.45

A small six-runner affair, with all six coming into this with chances. I was immediately drawn to the David O'Meara runner Miaswell who can go well in this race under jockey Danny Tudhope.

He showed glimpses of promise on debut at Thirsk, finishing second behind the odds on favourite Thyer, from the Gosden yard. My selection wasn't fancied that day ( sent off at 20/1 ) but ran a blinder to go down by only three and a half lengths. It's hard to judge the form of his debut run as Thyer has yet to run since, although he was sent off at 1/5 for that run, so you can only assume he's a decent sort. The third has also yet to run and those who finished below haven't done much since.

Miaswell failed to fire on his next outing at Newcastle on the AW, he was then given a 231-day break from the track and had a wind op during that time off. He returned to the track in April, finishing last of 5 over the mile and beaten 16L by the eventual winner Old Cock. Old Cock was a losing selection for me yesterday however Old Cock followed up that run next time out at Haydock. You can easily forgive that run as he was returning from a break.

My selection then bounced back to form at Haydock at the end of May, fulfilling the promise he showed on debut at Thirsk. He again wasn't fancied that day ( sent off at 25/1 ) however he showed a great attitude in the final furlong to get up and win on the line by a short head. Miaswell is open to further improvement in handicaps and looks a solid enough play at 11/4 in this open-looking race.

Aragon Castle 11/4 – Hamilton 3.15

Jockey William Buick has a handful of good rides at Hamilton on Tuesday and he could be a jockey worth following on Tuesday afternoon.

Buick doesn't ride for trainer Andrew Balding that regularly, however, when he does, they tend to do well, operating at a 16% strike rate when combining. He has been booked for the ride on my first selection Aragon Castle and everything points to a big run on Tuesday afternoon.

My selection has been knocking at the door of late, finishing second on his last two outings at Haydock and Goodwood. The form of his second at Haydock has worked out really well, the eventual winner Nellie Leylax followed up next time out when landing a class 2 handicap at Haydock. Nellie Leylax has been raised 14lb since beating Aragon Castle, suggesting there's every chance Aragon can improve even further of his current mark. Aragon Castle also receives the three-year-old allowance in this contest which gives him an upper edge over his fellow rivals.

I actually thought Bubbles Wonky was of interest in this contest as well, he was running well before his below-par performance at Goodwood, winning and finishing second on his two runs prior to that race. A drop back to the mile looks a good move and he could be the each-way value into this race.

Rizzel's Tips

Cusano 2/1 – Stratford 5.05

For the most part, I am a tipster who steers clear of the maiden and novice races, but every once in a while, something does catch my eye as a decent bet and I think Cusano could be a solid bet for Tuesday.

I think you will struggle to find a weaker ten-runner field novice hurdle all season long. This is a very poor race, and I don't think Cusano is going to be an above-average horse, but I think he is clearly a lot better than this poor bunch. He was rated close to 100 when trained as a flat horse in France, so on that basis, he possesses a decent amount of ability and speed. However, he is 0/3 for Dan Skelton over the jumps, but you'd have to say with a fair amount of confidence that those runs are the best on offer and I think Stratford could play to this lad's strengths. He has gone through his races well in the past, but maybe not quite seeing out the trip, which makes me believe that the tight track of Stratford will put more emphasis on his speed, which he should have more of than the rest of this field given his flat pedigree and performances. Dan and Harry Skelton have kicked off the summer jumps racing in great form and have their horses in great shape. Based on the forecast odds of 9/4, I think that this lad is a great bet.

I don't rate the chances of those who have run over hurdles before. Polling Day was 16/1 on hurdles debut for Archie Watson, and that saw him fall, but he wasn't going to get close to winning, and the winner that day was once a decent flat horse but has done nothing since going jumping. Baltic Voyage has some good flat runs under his belt but he was PU on hurdles debut and then recorded an RPR of 60. Connections will be praying that the wind-op will bring out a better performance.

Of the others, Green Machine probably deserves a mention based on the trainer. Fergal O'Brien hasn't had a great few weeks but is normally red-hot at this time of year. This horse's pedigree isn't special and neither has his flat runs.

Paddy's Island 7/4 – Stratford 5.40

And just like buses, you wait ages for a selection in a maiden hurdle, then two come at once. Yet again, this race looks fairly horrific, but probably a bit more competitive than the race before. I've found myself backing the Robbie Llewellyn horse, Paddy's Island.

After 394 days away from the track, Paddy's Island made a decent start to live over hurdles with a fourth-placed finish in a ten-runner field. That performance was good enough to be given a mark of 97, according to the Racing Post. That is not a high number at all, but it's by far the best we've seen so far from any of the horses in this race, and given that was on his first start in over a year and his first run over hurdles in public, there's only one way he can go from here, and that is up.

The only horse in the lineup with an official rating is the Skelton horse, Hot Fizzy Lizzy who is getting a few pounds from most horses in the race due to being a mare. She has run three times over hurdles, producing a RPR best of 84. Her best run over hurdles came on a soft surface, the other two saw her get heavily beat.

Reach For The Moon is an interesting runner, as he is rated 105 on the flat and has previously won a Class 1 race when trained by John & Thady Gosden. However, he is 0/2 over hurdles for Jamie Snowden and he hasn't exactly set the world alight with his performances, so based on what we've seen from him so far, it wouldn't be a shock if we saw him on the flat quite quickly.

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