Horse racing tips: Dave Nevison’s best bets for Tuesday

Olly Murphy’s two runners ran really well at Cheltenham last weekend and he will almost certainly have winners on Tuesday given the numbers he is sending to Fakenham and Ayr.

Salley Gardens looks set to follow up in Norfolk, but the trainer has two very interesting runners up at Ayr and booked Sean Bowen for both of them.

1.05 Ayr: Go Bob Go

I put up the winner of this race last year but, if I get it again this year, I expect it will be at a much bigger price.

In truth, Go Bob Go hasn’t shown too much on the Flat or over jumps. However, he has occasionally shown he might especially once stepped up in trip and he gets that extra distance here. He can improve now and the booking of Ryan Mania in place of an inexperienced 7lb claimer on this handicap debut over jumps takes the eye.

Trainer Mike Smith hasn’t been figuring among the winners in November, but the yard has run an awful lot of 200/1 shots and I am not overly concerned on that score. Go Bob Go will be a price, but he might be worth chancing especially with extra places.

2.50 Ayr: African Dance

This is a really interesting bit of placing by Olly Murphy, who has his yard in tremendous form at present.

African Dance never ran in a handicap over hurdles but showed useful form over the smaller obstacles and was usually ridden prominently, which is generally a positive at Ayr.

The handicapper has given him an opening mark of 121 for this first start over fences but Murphy has pitched him in at 0-120 level, presumably feeling he will have a class edge over these rivals. It looks a sound move as most of those he is giving weight to haven’t shown much over fences.

3.23 Ayr: Finawn Bawn

If he can remain injury-free he could be one to follow this winter.

Finawn Bawn only gave best after jumping the last on his chasing debut at Chepstow in 2019 and looked set for a good season as a novice, so it is obviously disappointing that he has been on the injured list for two years subsequently. That race was a hot affair and has worked out very well since, and by my reading he could be very well-handicapped off a mark of 128.

I pay less and less attention to long absences and particularly with horses from the top yards (witness the Greatwood result) and it seems inconceivable that Olly Murphy would take this horse up to Ayr for a comeback run if he wasn’t fit. Three miles is definitely his trip.