Top tipster Andrew Mount has three bets at Hamilton and Redcar on Bank Holiday Thursday, alongside 888sport‘s exclusive sign-up offer of Bet £10 and Claim £40 In Bet Bonuses.
Odds correct at time of publishing.
STRIKE RED – 2.36 Hamilton (1pt each-way – 8/1 generally)
STRIKE RED needs a track with a stiff uphill finish and can be forgiven his last-time-out York defeat (18th of 22) where it was surprising to see him go off at just 11-1 given how unsuitable the flat Knavesmire track was.
He was desperately unlucky when we backed him at Newmarket’s Craven meeting and his high draw turned out to be a massive disadvantage when he was only 13th of 19 at the same venue on 2000 Guineas day. His slow starts remain a cause for concern but he won by two lengths on his sole previous course visit and he’s well drawn down the centre. His full record on stiff tracks reads 4132111260 (4-10).
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MICK MCHUGH – 4.12 Redcar (1pt each-way – 8/1 bet365, 7/1 888sport, 13/2 generally)
MICK MCHUGH is well drawn in stall 1 and look very interesting now going handicapping for the first time. He caught the eye on his racecourse debut at Chelmsford when finishing fourth of six under patient tactics and those in second, third and sixth have all won since.
Stall 1 made life tricky when he finished as runner-up at Lingfield in January and though escaping the inside rail, he raced closer to it than the winner. The step up to 6f was against him at Ripon on his turf debut last month and – gelded since and now fitted with cheekpieces – everything looks right for big run under in-form Jason Watson.
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GLORIOUS RIO – 4.20 Hamilton (1pt each-way – 10/1 bet365, 9/1 Will Hills, Sky Bet)
Contrary to popular belief, it is not an advantage to be drawn high in sprints at Hamilton. We get the occasional meeting where the stands’ side runners fare well but, since the beginning of 2016, had we backed every horse drawn 10 or higher in sprint handicaps of 12+ runners we’d have collected only four times from 134 bets (3% strike-rate) for a huge loss of £115.25 to a £1 level stake (expected wins = 11).
Two horses dominate the very early betting – 7-2 shot The Gloaming (stall 12 of 12) and 9-2 poke Rose Bandit (stall 11) – and both are drawn very high, suggesting there is value elsewhere. Step forward GLORIOUS RIO (stall 6), who was on the receiving end of the draw when a respectable fifth over course and distance last time. The first four home in that eight-runner contest came form the four lowest stalls, with Glorious Rio, who had stall 7, doing best of the stands’ side quartet.
Stella Barclay’s five-year-old is very consistent when given a straight track, ideally a stiff one like Hamilton, and will be finishing to good effect. He’s drawn in the middle today and, hopefully, Joanna Mason will switch right towards the centre of the track to challenge.
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Today’s Best Bets
Strike Red – 1pt each-way – 2.36 Hamilton (8/1 generally)
Mick McHugh -1pt each-way – 4.12 Redcar (8/1 bet365, 7/1 888sport, 13/2 generally)
Glorious Rio – 1pt each-way – 4.20 Hamilton (10/1 bet365, 9/1 Will Hills, Sky Bet)
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