Thursday spreads us across seven meetings, and for once the serious business is done before teatime. Four picks at Thirsk between 3.40 and 5.27, three of them carrying our top stake, and if that card goes well the evening becomes a free hit.
Thirsk first, then. Gaelic Approach, Zooella and Sunlit Sea all go in with confidence, but the one we keep coming back to is Sixty Plus in the 4.53. He towers over his four rivals on ability, whatever his recent placings suggest. The fastest run of his life came only last time, the weights are easing in his favour, and James Owen is winning with a third of his runners at the moment. At 2.63 he looks the day’s most solid proposition.
Owen features again at Chepstow, where Prefer The Sister in the 6.26 arrives in the form of her life. Two straight wins, three from six overall, and this is weaker company than she beat last time. She has proven form on quick ground too, so the short price is fair. Earlier on that card Absolute Diamond has the right team for the job. David Evans and Ryan Kavanagh both know how to win at Chepstow, she has already raced over this trip on fast ground, and stall five is exactly where you want to be. Level Up and Midnight Media keep us involved late into the evening there.
Over at Cork the thread running through our three picks is Colin Keane, who goes particularly well at the track. Rosie Frith sets the standard in the 5.58 on her best form, and the sharpest of that form came recently. Her in-and-out profile explains the 8.0, but Keane’s booking is the tell. Wingit in the 8.18 has been quietly building towards this, capped by a career best in second last time, and connections bring him back within four days to strike while the iron is hot.
The rest of the day offers plenty besides. Harlington carries a double stake at Sandown, where Roker Roar at 15.0 each way is our boldest call of the day, and Cawthorne Banker gets top billing at Uttoxeter. At York, Tiva at 23.0 each way is one for the brave, while Mr Writer and Killavia fly the flag at Ascot.
Eleven of the twenty go off at 4/1 or shorter, so this is a day built on solid ground rather than moonshots. If Thirsk delivers, everything after it is a bonus.