Rizz can count himself unlucky not to walk away with at least one winner yesterday, and from talking to him earlier, he wasn't one bit pleased by the ride given to De Tellers Fortune.
Rizz sent me a replay of the run-in, and I have to say, I agree with him 100%. De Tellers Fortune had seemingly gotten the better of the eventual winner as they approached the last, but for some reason, James Bowen opted to hold his mount together instead of throwing the horse at it, and as a result, De Tellers Fortune completely fluffed the last and handed the race away.
Rizzel's other selection was never at the races, and it wasn't a surprise given his selection drifted a fair bit before the off.
Cairnzy's Tips
Minella Rescue 5/4 – Haydock 5.35
My first selection on Wednesday comes in the finale at Haydock, which is a Class 4 handicap hurdle contest over 3m.
The horse that I liked was Gary Hanmers' handicap debutante Minella Rescue, who looks to hold strong claims of getting off the mark in handicaps.
My selection didn't take long to get to grips with hurdling under Gary Hanmer, taking a big step forward from his third at Cheltenham last April to win comfortably under Sean Bowen a month later at Stratford. Minella Rescue was then given a break and returned to the track last November at Bangor. My selection was sent of favorite on that occasion but looked in need of the run as he finished a well-beaten fourth that day. My selections jumping let him down massively that day, although something may have been amiss, as he was given another break ( 109 days ) on the back of that comeback run.
Minella Rescue returned to the track at the start of March and ran a cracker on reappearance to finish second, and only three-quarters of a length behind the eventual winner Thank You Ma'am. The form of that particular effort looks okay in my opinion, with Thank You Ma'am looking a progressive enough sort for trainer Georgina Nicholls and is now up to a mark of 127 on the back of that victory. Minella Rescue has been nudged up 3lb for that three-quarter length defeat, which puts him on a mark of 121. I believe there is more to come from Gary Hanmers' charge, and a mark of 121 looks well within reach.
Star Legend 4/1 – Southwell 5.25
It wouldn't surprise me if Cabello De Mar was to win this race as he is unexposed as a stayer and won with just over 5L to spare at this course last time out. With that said, an 8lb rise will ask further questions, while he also has a question mark on his head regarding race fitness as he hasn't been seen since last October.
The horse that I've decided to take him on with is the James Owen-trained Star Legend, who to his credit has been knocking on the door of late. My selection was originally campaigned over hurdles and was rated as high as 102 over obstacles. He remains a maiden on the flat after sixteen runs which is quite concerning but has started to turn a corner of late, suggesting a win is only around the corner.
Ratings suggest he has a bit to find with Cabello De Mar who is now rated 75 on the flat but two short head defeats in his last two outings against horses rated in the low 70s would tell me that he shouldn't be too far away if running to his optimum.
Young Mason Paetel isn't a jockey I know a whole lot about, which is to be expected given he is only 16 and learning his trade. Mason did ride Star Legend last time out when going down by a short head at this same course last week. He has a wide draw to deal with this, which isn't ideal, but he has plenty of time to get organized before making his challenge into the straight. I'm hoping they go a good gallop during this contest as Star Legend tends to enjoy coming from off the pace, fingers crossed things fall nicely for him in this contest.
GambleAware