Wednesday’s Racing Tips – Knights Affair can shield his rivals off at Catterick

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Trojan Sun was horrendous up at Musselburgh and showed nothing like he did on his previous start over the same C&D. Cash The Cheque didn't get the clearest of runs when trying to make her challenge around the final bend, being blocked off by the same horse at least two times.

Pfingstberg was under the cosh a fair way from home and was trying hard under Callum Shephard but wasn't good enough on the day. My other fancy on the day was a NR.

Cairnzy's tips

Knights Affair 7/4 – Catterick 4.40

The David O'Meara stable is one of the most inform yards at this moment in time, and his runner Knight Affair has strong claims to continuing the good form on Wednesday.

Knight's Affair didn't show that much as a three-year-old but has turned a corner this season at the age of four, with form figures of 4221 since returning to the track in May. There were plenty of positives to take from his reappearance outing at Ayr, finishing just under 3L behind the winner Tasfir on the back of a 229-day layoff. Tasfir went on to win and place three times in his next four outings, so the form of that effort reads quite strongly.

My selection followed up with two decent efforts at Doncaster and Catterick, finishing second in both outings and not beaten far into second in either of those races ( beaten by 1L and a neck ). Knights Affair got off the mark in his most recent outing at Musselburgh with a comfortable 3L success over 2m. My only slight worry is the form of his recent success looks quite weak after yesterday's results. Trojun Sun who finished second behind my selection last time out was a losing selection for Rizzel yesterday, while Sea Master who also contested last time out was in the same race yesterday and could only manage fourth. I'll take the risk and draw a blind eye to it, I'm a firm believer that you can only beat what's in front of you and Knights Affair did it quite easily last time out and a 5lb rise seems fair in my opinion.

Easy Peeler 1/1 – Catterick 2.40

Nothing is exciting about the price of Easy Peeler, but nothing else caught my eye at Catterick on Wednesday and I feel it has a great chance of winning, so I'll put my neck on the line and throw up a shorty!

There was plenty to like about her debut run at Ripon a few weeks ago, chasing home the George Boughey-trained Violet Love who had previously won twice and finished second in her previous five outings. Violet Love now has an OR of 90, so the form of that runner-up effort looks very strong on paper. The pair pulled clear of the remainder that day and with further improvement expected now with a run under the belt, she should take all the beating in this contest. Lunar Street looks like the main danger, Lunar Street has the benefit of an extra run but the form of her previous second doesn't look that strong and she may have to play second fiddle once more.

Rizzel's tips

Maritime Lady 3/1 – Leicester 6.45

If Chicago Gal turns up then I'd imagine she'd be the favourite as she won at Beverley last time out over a trip which is arguably on the short side, but that was only two days ago, so they might feel this is coming too quickly.

Even if she does turn up, I'm more than happy to take her on with her carrying a penalty as I think Maritime Lady has some good form despite not getting a win in his career so far. The recent run at Yarmouth was a very good run in a race which looks miles better than today's 0-68, and it didn't quite go to plan that day either. It's a pet peeve of mine when a jockey takes the rail in behind the leader as it more often than not doesn't work out as they get boxed in and can't get a way out when they need to, and that is exactly what happened under Daragh Keenan at Yarmouth on Maritime Lady. She came under pressure, which was to be expected over 10f considering she stays further, but she battled tenaciously and when she was starting to close on the leader and potentially go past the horses around her, she had no room and Daragh Keenan had to pull her back, and considering she finished 1.75L behind the winner, she would've gone very close to winning.

The form of that Yarmouth run has turned out to be strong, so even though it was a bunch finish, which isn't the best indicator that horses are ahead of their marks, the winner and fourth-placed horse have won on their next starts, and they are the only horses who have run since, so next time out reads 2/2.

The step back up to 12f looks like the correct play based on how well she was staying on, and it's not a surprise that she did stay on given she is by Crystal Ocean who did his best performances over 12f and he was also second in the St Leger over 14f. Sylvestre De Sousa is in the saddle, which is a bonus over Daragh Keenan.

Tierney 12/1 – Leicester 7.50 (Each-Way 3places with Bet365)

I could be barking up the wrong tree based on the odds of Tierney, but I thought that she had an excellent chance back in grade after a decent performance at Listed level last time out, but the odds suggest she is one of least likely to win.

Tierney was held up in rear at Carlisle in a Listed race and didn't get the best passages through as it appeared that she was travelling better than a fair few ahead of her. She had to go wide and didn't pick up as well as she looked like she would've, but she stayed on and finished 6th, but was only 4.75L behind the winner, and that was a career-best by a considerable margin, and given she was a 100/1 shot rated 74, she ran a stormer and would've gone closer if she had a better ride. Since then, the handicapper has put her up to a mark of 80, which is more than fair, but Jonny Peate takes the ride and takes off 3lbs, so off a mark of 77 back into a Class 4, you'd like to think a repeat performance would see her tough to beat.

The form of the Listed race seems solid, the winner has since finished 2nd in a Group 1 and the others ahead of Tierney have been placed or run well previously at the same level or slightly better, so you can't say that they underperformed because a 74 rated filly ran a good race and wasn't beaten too far, maybe it's just the case that Tierney had come on for her seasonal reappearance and she has improved over the winter.

There isn't much separating the field in terms of weight and ratings, and Inherit seems to bet the one which the bookies are deeming the one to beat. I can't see how she is the price she is, as the form doesn't look great, and surely it's just due to the trainer and owner combination why she is the favourite, as well as making her handicap debut.

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