Racing Tips – Strike gold with Golden Strike at Ripon

Both selections were utterly abysmal on Tuesday, and probably the worst two runs I’ve seen from any horse I’ve put up on the thread for a long time.

Magic Rascal went backwards very quickly when they quickened for home. I was surprised, he settled a lot better than usual and his tendency to run keen I thought was the main factor holding him back.

My other selection Charencey was backed into favourite during the day and ran like a 50/1 shot. Ridden cold out the back and found nothing off the bridle. Leicester is a course that tends to favour horses running prominently, so I was surprised to see hold-up tactics used on this occasion.

Only one horse appeals as a bet on Wednesday, coming from the evening meeting at Ripon.

Golden Strike 9/2 – Ripon 6:55

I was surprised to see Golden Strike marked up as big as 9/2 in the market as I expected him to be more around a 3/1 chance for this contest. He does carry a penalty for this race however I was impressed with his attitude to win on his last start and I thought he could be a three-year-old to follow this year if building upon the promise he showed last year.

My selection has only had two runs to date, he made his debut at Pontefract in September of last year. He started slowly that day and was very green when the pace quickened however he ended up finishing a good third to Bondy who was an expensive purchase from the Bryan Smart yard. Golden Strike only went down by a length and a quarter in the end which was a cracking effort given how green he was throughout the race.

Golden Strike quickly made amends in his subsequent outing at Ayr, and it is possible that he won’t require significant improvement to follow up in this race.

Mother Nature 5/4 – Curragh 5:55

Mother Nature is a strong contender in this race at 5/4 odds, and it would be quite surprising if she fails to secure victory in this maiden race.

She displayed great potential during her debut, where she narrowly missed out on victory by a short head at Dundalk in April. After a brief absence, she is now back to continue her three-year-old career in what looks a great oppurtunity to get of the mark.

Although her first run was somewhat disappointing in terms of not winning first time out, it is not uncommon for horses to underperform on their debut. Despite this, she showed a great attitude in the business end to lead in the final 100 yards, only to be narrowly beaten by the horse that dictated the pace.

The eventual winner Higher Leaves has since gone on to contest in a group three fillies contest and although finishing last of five in the end, she did only finish two and a quarter lengths of the winner, who now has an OR of 96.

Baynoona 11/2 – Nottingham 4:27

The Harry Charlton yard has served me well in recent times and Baynoona is of definite interest in the race with the booking of James Doyle another eye-catching factor.

Baynoona provided some signs of enthusiasm despite appearing inexperienced in her three starts in maiden and novice races under David Simcock. Her most impressive performance came when finishing third at Wolverhampton, narrowly missing out by just under two lengths. With only three starts under her belt, Baynoona still has untapped potential and wouldn’t need to improve much to win this race.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see her make progress in her handicap debut and first race under trainer Harry Charlton.

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