Monday 12th February
2.45 Plumpton - Alto Alto 10/3 (Hills,Coral,Lads,Skybet)
Four horse race where you could probably give a chance to all the runners tbh but i've come down on the side of Chris Gordons' ALTO ALTO who caught my eye being the only CD winner in the field , definatley has a liking for it here at Plumpton with a win over todays CD on sole attempt and three wins from four runs at the course overall. Took a 2m handicap hurdle last time here , beating Birdman Bob (a fancy of mine later in the day so if he can win this that bodes well for BB later on to my eyes) by a length and three quarters. So he seems to up his game when running here at Plumpton and at the price i think hes worth a pop. Rex Dingle has ridden him the last twice , so has one win from those. Has done well here this season with a 21.7% strike rate along with a healthy profit of +24.25 to boot. Trainer Chris Gordon has also been doing well here this term with a 21.2% strike rate and been amongst the winners with a 22% strike rate over the last fortnight. When the pair have pooled their talents over the last three weeks they have a 16% strike rate. As i say a race where you could give all the participants a chance but given his course form im happy enough to side with the selection.
3.45 Plumpton - Chanceaux 9/1 (Hills,Coral)
Taking a chance with the rank outsider of the four here so obviously comes with risks attached but i like its chances and at the price i thought it worth a go. As with the 2.45 a chance could be given to all four runners as they all come into this in form , CHANCEAUX has won his last two races , lto beating Parisencore by a neck at Doncaster , those two wins both come on heavy going and looking at his record he seems to go better when underfoot conditions are softer. One from on here at Plumpton and whilst he hasnt won at todays distance he has placed in two of his three runs over it. A 4lb rise for those wins isnt too bad and i think he can make his presence felt. Jonathon Burke in the hot seat and he has a place from hos sole start on the horse to date and has a 12% strike rate in the last couple of weeks , and over the last five years when coming here hes managed a 32% strike rate , trainer Alastair Ralph sends just this one to the meeting and in the same time period has notched a 41.7% strike rate here at Plumpton. I think he can go well and outrun his odds.
4.15 Plumpton - Birdman Bob 5/2 (365,Hills,Coral,Skybet,Lads)
BIRDMAN BOB catches my eye in this , comes into this in decent enough form coming second the last twice. As mentioned above he was beaten by Alto Alto on his penultimate run and was then beaten by Nickelforce last time out , both here at Plumpton. Usually runs well round here with a place on his only start over CD and a win and two places from five outings overall. That run over CD last time out was a solid effort and despite the rise in class i think he can definatley make his presence felt here this afternoon. Philip Armson has ridden him the last twice and overall on the horse he has a win and those two places from his three rides so gets on well enough with the horse. Hes here for just this one ride , and trainer Andy Irvine sends just this one to the meeting. Think he stands a decent chance of getting his head in front today.
8.30 Wolverhampton - Wedgewood 16/1 (365,Hills,Coral,BFred,Lads) - Munificent 10/3 (Hills,Coral,BFred,Lads)
Like the look of a couple in this one so going double handed and keeping me fingers crossed ! First one is WEDGEWOOD who was a poor 11th/12 when last seen over 6f here at Wolverhampton back in December 23 , has been off since but won on re appearance (over CD) last year so hoping for a repeat performance here this evening , and the fact that she reverts back to 5f tonight didnt go un noticed , seems that this is her best trip and im hoping for a good showing here , three from three over CD and the fact that Hollie Doyle is re united with her caught my eye as well , only ridden the horse once to date and that was on her re appearance run last year over CD so im hoping for a bit of DeJa Vu .. been in decent form with a 13% strike rate over the last three weeks and she has a 15.4% strike rate over the last five years when coming to Wolverhampton. And when teaming up with trainer Tony Carroll over the past 21 days they come away with a 33% strike rate , the trainer has also been amongst the winners lately with a 17% strike rate over the last two weeks. At the price i think shes worth a go. The other one i like is MUNIFICENT who arrives on the back of a decent enough fourth at Kempton last time out , given his liking for it here (three wins and a place from eight runs over CD) im hoping for a solid effort tonight. I think its interesting that the trainer seems to target this race with this horse , was third to Astrophysics last year , beaten a length , and won it in 2022 beating Amazing Amaya by a short head. Is now below last winning mark and looks to be nicely berthed to me. Chelsea Banham and Joey Haynes both here for just this one today which is another thing that caught my eye.
7.30 Wolverhampton - Daheer 12/1 (Hills) - Tiger Beetle 9/2 (Hills)
Another race where two catch my eye .. DAHEER was last seen at the end of last year when a sorry 9th of 12 over 1m4f here at Wolverhampton , to be fair its easy to excuse that run and the prior two runs as he was coming back from a layoff of 114 days and before that had been holding his own and acquitting himself well without actually getting his head in front. Has been giving a break of 48 days and hopefully returning to a CD where he does well at can see him in a much better light , has won and gone well coming back from a lay off in the past so not unduly worried about that and as i mentioned he does well here with five wins and four places from thirteen runs over this evenings CD. Also caught my eye that due to his last few runs he gets in here off a handy looking mark having won off higher which is a tick in the right box for me. Doesnt look too badly drawn and i think theres a fair chance that he could outrun his odds , or im hoping so. TIGER BEETLE has to be on the shortlist for me as all his wins have come over this evenings CD , and overall hes three wins and two places from his seven runs (CD) so obviously has a liking for it round here and for me it'd be silly to ignore his chances over a CD he excels at. Has a nice draw and should be making his presence felt here i feel , has won off higher than todays mark which is another plus. Trainer Mark Rimmel and jockey Rob Hornby both here for just this one and both seem to do well enough here at the course , should be in the mix come the business end of things.