Friday 12 February 2021

Saturday 13th February 2021: Lord to Rule the Manor at Wolverhampton

Saturday’s jump racing has been completely decimated in Britain due to the extremely cold weather, Newbury moving to next weekend and Warwick hopefully now going ahead on Monday.

There are always betting opportunities however, as long as we play smart. Across the all-weather meetings at Lingfield and Wolverhampton (Lingfield needing to survive an inspection) as well as Laurel Park in the States, there is enough for us to take an interest.

To have a chance at a reasonable return, we keep stakes to a minimum and play the long game with these six selections: 

1.25 Lingfield (Fillies’ Novice Stakes) – MUMMY BEAR

We should be on the lookout for any significant money coming the way of Clive Cox’s newcomer Just Amber, but if she turns out to be nothing special them Mummy Bear is easily the most solid in the contest.

The key here is her improvement. She ran a rather below average debut when fifth at Chelmsford before bettering that with a runner-up effort here at Lingfield. She was 14/1 and 10/1 respectively and so nothing more was expected of her, but now she can move up another notch and will have the assistance of Ryan Moore up top.

Debut winner Rita The Cheetah is next best, while in this company the Cox team can expect a good run from Just Amber.

2.35 Lingfield (Handicap) – CRACKLING 

We’re on Ryan Moore again here, the top-class rider having been put up by Martyn Meade for owners Manton Park Racing on lightly-raced five-year-old gelding Crackling.

Again, improvement is the main factor here given that Crackling won on debut at Lingfield back in late 2018 before coming back from injury to run fourth at Kempton and second at Southwell, getting better each time.

Back on the surface at which he excelled on his first run, Crackling can now kick on and so considering he is already at the requisite level to be able to go close in this company, another step forward should definitely get the job done.

On form he has last-time-out winner Accomplice, Luke Morris’ mount Apex King and 1¼-mile Lingfield scorer Noble Peace to beat.

5.45 Wolverhampton (Handicap) – ARAFI 

Another very solid form proposition and, like Mummy Bear one from the Richard Hannon yard, is the filly Arafi who runs in this seven-furlong handicap.

Well bred, Arafi hasn’t hit the heights as of yet in eight starts but is getting better and has certainly shown some versatility. A good second on good-to-firm ground at Salisbury last year, she returned there to win on softer going before taking a break and landing another race on Kempton’s all-weather track a week ago.

She is being turned out quickly and there is good reason for that. She is in flying form, is not badly treated by the handicapper and looks likely to have a couple of pounds in hand.

Mark Johnston has Love Destiny in this who also won two in a row and could easily bounce back after defeat last time, while Mark Loughnane’s ultra-consistent Critical Thinking is another in with an obvious chance.

7.15 Wolverhampton (Handicap) – LORD RIDDIFORD

The best race on the card is this Class 2, five-furlong sprint handicap. Short in the betting after winning last time is Tone The Barone and he will have a major say in this, while David Barron’s Venturous is on a hat-trick.

The overpriced one in the event however is John Quinn’s Lord Riddiford. His price, around 5/1 at the time of writing, is based principally on his unseating Jason Hart at Chelmsford last time when he was a short 10/3 shot to win a similar race to this.

Before that he was showing continuous improvement, winning and finishing a good second over this course and distance, and so now with Hart sitting tight he can really make his presence felt.

As well as the six-year-old’s overall form remaining solid, Lord Riddiford’s time figures are amazingly consistent and so he looks guaranteed to run his race.

7.45 Wolverhampton (Handicap) – CITYZEN SERG

In Richard Hannon’s Cityzen Serg we have a strangely similar scenario to that of Lord Riddiford. A classy four-year-old for Middleham Park Racing who has now reached a mark of 87, this son of Raven’s Pass won three from four at this track between November and January and did not look finished.

A strong fancy on Newcastle’s Tapeta last time, he ran way too freely and bombed out, finishing stone last which has led to him being overpriced and under bet for this race. He should have got over that now and if back to his best, remains well handicapped to score.

Cityzen Serg’s main rivals appear to be likely favourite Arij, a consistent type but one who is overrated in the market given that he has been getting beaten and is no better handicapped than our horse, as well as David Loughnane’s last-time-out scorer Dark Pine.

8.53 Laurel Park (General George Stakes – Grade 3) – SHARE THE RIDE

We’ll dip just the one toe into Maryland on Saturday night (although we’ll be back in May), to have a small bet in this $250,000 Grade 3 race at Laurel Park.

Laki still possesses some quality and is fancied by many for this race, but at 8 he is not getting any better. Indeed, his ratings are steadily decreasing and to be honest there is no reason to think he’ll suddenly reverse that here. He also gives away 2lbs to the rest of the field.

Better placed to run well may be the five-year-old Funny Guy. Consistent if not prolific, he has been running well at Aqueduct but has had the assistance of Joel Rosario until now.

The one to perhaps show them both up is the six-year-old Kentucky-bred, Share The Ride. Improving lately in terms of both his overall rating and his speed figures, Share The Ride just keeps getting better despite his age and switching stables, his morning line price of 3/1 looking more than fair.

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