Baccarat winning last Saturday in the Wokingham kept up our great run of form in sprint handicaps making it three wins out of four. We will stick with the sprint handicaps and the Paddy Power Scurry at the Curragh rather than tackle the Northumberland Plate.
I had this race narrowed down to three horses one of which was Alben Star and off goes pricewise and tips up Alben Star taking all the value. One thing his article is correct about is that on good or better ground at the Curragh high drawn horses have an advantage and that is where our selections today are drawn. Of course pace is crucial in sprints and the high drawn Alben Star can provide that liking to race prominently.
Barkston Ash looks primed for a massive run having skipped Royal Ascot last week. He ran a cracker from a high draw at Haydock recently coming home first on the stands side to be the only horse from that side to finish in the first eight home. That was on good/soft ground but before that he finished off his race very strongly over today’s trip on good ground at Thirsk. I fully expect him to finish in the money today.
The other horse we want onside today is a huge price and one the market has totally ignored. That is understandable when looking at his recent form figure which read 21, 20, UR. Yep, he managed to lose his jockey coming out of the stalls at Navan in a race won by Shipyard. Not inspiring form but Arbitrageur caught my eye last summer when coming from off the pace to power home over an inadequate five furlong trip on good to firm ground finishing less than two lengths behind Rockingham Handicap winner Whozthecat. Arbitrageur lines up today 4lbs better off having had no chance from a poor draw in the scurry last year. He might run another clunker but from stall 24 and over his preferred trip 50/1 is too big to ignore.
Selection A: 1 Point *EW Barkston Ash Curragh 16:15 at 16/1 Ladbrokes else 14/1 PaddyPower or Bet365 (all offering 5 Places)
Selection B: 1 Point *EW Arbitrageur Curragh 16:15 at 50/1 PaddyPower, Ladbrokes & Bet365 (all offering 5 places)
Best of luck,
Nicky
