GG tipster Andrew Mount reveals his list of eyecatchers from the past week’s action!
Find out which runners he wants to keep onside below, alongside bet365‘s new customer offer of £50 in Free Bets when you deposit and bet £10.
ANOTHER BERTIE, tenth, 5f classified stakes, Southwell, Friday, January 20th
ANOTHER BERTIE beat only one home when visored for the first time in this 5f classified contest but Derek Shaw’s 14-1 shot did far too much too soon and had nothing left in the tank from two furlongs out. Ustath, the prominently-ridden runner-up, went one better 24 hours later. He won over course and distance on his stable debut last February and could pick up another small race if he doesn’t go quite so mad from the outset.
CHOLA EMPIIRE, won, 7f handicap, Southwell, Saturday, January 21st
CHOLA EMPIRE bounced back from beaten-favourite efforts at Wolverhampton/Chelmsford to comfortably land the 7f Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap in a fast time. His record at this trip without headgear now reads 13241 (2-5) and he should prove capable of following up.
DIVINE MESSENGER, 2nd, 1m classified stakes, Lingfield, Saturday, January 21st
Emma Owen’s nine-year-old DIVINE MESSENGER finished eighth of nine at Kempton on January 6th but that was his first run since last February and it was clearly needed. Sent off at 25-1 for the 1m Spreadex Sports First Goalscorer Insurance Classified Stakes at Lingfield last Saturday, he looked likely to cause a big upset but was caught in the final strides by Beau Geste, going down by a short head in second after trading at odds of 1-5 (1.20) in running. He hasn’t won since 2019 but could pick up a small race in the coming weeks.
FLOATS ON AIR, third, 7f classified stakes, Wolverhampton, Thursday, January 19th
Moveonup and Madame Marmalade got into a fierce battle for the early lead in the 7f Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Classified Stakes at Wolverhampton last Thursday and the pair dropped away to finish eighth and seventh respectively. FLOATS ON AIR tracked that pair in third place before being passed by the hold-up horses, doing well to hold on for a 40-1 third. He was beaten by four and a half lengths in total but could find a race on this evidence.
MAYBE TONIGHT, 11th, 5f classified stakes, Southwell, Friday, January 20th
MAYBE TONIGHT, like Another Bertie (see above), did too much too soon when fitted with first-time headgear (cheekpieces) in the BetUK’s Acca Club £5 Free Bet Classified Stakes. Tony Carroll’s 8-1 poke weakened to finish last of 11, six lengths behind the winner. He’s a ten-race maiden but this run is easily excused, and he could go well at the likely big odds next time.
PITTSBURG, fourth, 1m3f handicap, Southwell, Friday, January 20th
PITTSBURG has won just a Catterick handicap hurdle from 19 starts but there are more races in him judged on last week’s fourth of 12 in division one of the Huge Daily Boosts Only At BetUK Handicap. The race was run to suit the closers, with the winner, runner-up, third, fifth, sixth and seventh all coming from midfield or further back. Pittsburg, who raced prominently and met trouble, was value for more than his one-length defeat.
GG Cheltenham Ante-Post Book – Wednesday, 18th January
No bets this week as the racing has calmed down somewhat since the turn of the year but it will soon be ramping up again and so will my suggestions. The weekends cards look to be in some doubt so I won’t spend time looking into those but instead I’ll crack on with my A-Z…
Wed 18 Jan 2023REVOLUTIONISE, second, 7f handicap, Lingfield, Saturday, January 21st
REVOLUTIONISE, backed from 33-1 into 16-1 for the 7f Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap, had no answer to the 15-8 favourite All The King’s Men but his two-and-a-half lengths second was still a solid effort. His record in January now reads 1112272 (3-7), with the unplaced effort excusable as he failed to settle.
RUN TEDDY RUN, won, 1m handicap, Southwell, Friday, January 20th
RUN TEDDY RUN got off the mark in a 1m Class 6 handicap at Southwell on January 15th and followed up over the same trip and track just five days later in the Spreadex Sports Get £40 In Bonuses Handicap. He won with plenty in hand and will be hard to beat in his hat-trick attempt tonight (runs in 8.30 Southwell on Tuesday January 24th).
SMITH, third, 2m handicap, Lingfield, Saturday, January 21st
SMITH has developed into a real course and distance expert, with this 12-1 third taking his record over 2m on Lingfield’s Polytrack to 351111413 (5-9) for a profit of £12.50 to a £1 level stake at SP. When starting at a single-figure price, those figures improve to 11111 (5-5), with the wins at 15-2, 3-1, 5-2, 9-4 and 5-4.
VELMA, second, 1m handicap, Southwell, Friday, January 20th
VELMA had no answer to Run Teddy Run (see above) but Chris Fairhurst’s mare ran a solid second at 16-1, going down by a length and three-quarters with three lengths back to the third. She’s consistent over 1m on Tapeta when given a hold-up ride in a big field and could pick up a race at Newcastle, scene of her two previous wins.