Fourteen bets across four cards, and the day splits fairly neatly. Windsor carries the confidence, Beverley carries the prices. If you only follow one track today it should probably be Windsor, where five of our fourteen run and the staking is heaviest.
Beverley gets us going in the afternoon and it is the meeting where we are happiest taking a chance. Kaiulani Spirit at 8/1 in the 2:45 is the one we keep coming back to. He was beaten a length and a quarter at Catterick by a horse that has since won a class 4, and another rival from his recent runs has gone in as well. That is form working out properly rather than form that just reads nicely. It is a small stake because the trip and the ground leave a bit to chance, but the price is generous for a horse whose recent races keep producing winners.
The rest of the Beverley card is about horses on the way up. American Bay in the 3:45 has not won in six, which will put plenty off, but the horse that beat him by a length and a quarter at Thirsk on 1 August has since taken a class 4, and his own times are improving. Wardlaw in the 4:15 is the same story from a different angle. He keeps stepping forward, the times behind those placed efforts are sharpening from a modest base, and Luke Morris has always gone well round that track. Neither is a big price now, and both look like horses the handicapper has not quite caught up with.
Windsor in the evening is where the money goes. City Of Poets at 7:41 is our biggest stake of the day, and Mythological Star closes the card at 8:11 off the back of two straight wins. He is back out just three days later, which some will read as a negative. We read it as a yard that knows exactly what it has. The Kublers do well at Windsor and a horse in that sort of form is worth following while the run lasts. Solar Invincible, Legendsoftheland and Colourband fill in around them.
Salisbury is quieter but Storm Point in the 8:04 is worth a look. Just five to beat, times jumping forward from a low base, and that is usually the shape of a horse racing off a mark that no longer fits. Lingfield gives us three, including Blue Samuna at a big 23.0 if you fancy a punt at the bottom of the market.
Yesterday gave us Warrior Mode at 3.5, with Hanney Girl, Philanthropist and Final Night all placing. A solid enough day. Today asks a bit more of the evening cards, so keep an eye on Windsor once the light goes.