Six meetings and nineteen picks on Thursday, which sounds like a scattergun until you look at where the stakes sit. The afternoon belongs to Yarmouth and Newbury, then the evening splits between Catterick, Leopardstown and a Worcester card that carries our three strongest bets of the day.
Yarmouth gets five picks and the day starts there with Bear To Dream in the 2:10. Only four go to post, his recent form has been franked by subsequent winners, and he won at Chepstow off a mark just 2lb lower than today’s. An hour later Neyva’s Angel lines up in the 3:20 and she has been getting quicker all season. Beaten a head here over six furlongs two weeks ago with the third out of sight, she has De Sousa up, and he is deadly around this track. A 4lb rise should not stop her.
The two we keep coming back to sit either side of teatime. Righthere Rightnow in the 4:05 at Newbury towers over this field on the clock and races off a mark his Dubai form makes look lenient. He went close at Meydan in December over this trip, he is drawn handily in five and he returns freshened. Then Toptime in the 4:52 at Nottingham. He comes alive when fresh, his close third at Thirsk last week on his first run for months was better than the bare result, and he won over this course and distance last summer. Roy Bowring’s runners thrive at Nottingham too.
The evening is where we have gone in hardest. Bagheera Ginge in the 5:40 and Ballintubber Boy in the 7:42 at Worcester are our two biggest plays of the day, with Belcamo backing them up in the 8:17. Leopardstown offers a spread from Abbey Actress at a short price in the 7:30 to Medieval Night at 25/1 each way, and if you want a real flyer, Pouting goes off at 40/1 in Catterick’s 8:59.
Yesterday was a quiet one. Four picks, no winner, but two made the frame and Condotti at 10/1 turned the each-way book a profit on his own. Cospicua in Yarmouth’s 5:35 closes our afternoon today as the only previous winner in her field, and she sets the standard the rest must find improvement to match.
Plenty of chances spread across the day, but if the Worcester trio run their races, Thursday looks after itself.