Horse racing tips for Monday: Makram poised to strike in Zetland

It is very much the calm before the storm over the next few days with the Cazoo Derby Festival at Epsom just around the corner.

That said, there’s some competitive racing action to look forward to on Racing TV on Bank Holiday Monday, with the Racing TV Zetland Gold Cup Handicap (16:40pm) at Redcar being the feature contest.

My nap of the day runs in that contest, and I also have two other fancies which are chalked up (at the time of writing) at 22-1 and 14-1. I must admit, the racing does look tricky on Monday, but hopefully the trio below will all reward each-way support. Best of luck.

It looked as though Star Shield was in need of the run on his seasonal debut at York where he was not given a hard time under pressure, and he also needed a run to blow the cobwebs away last season before bouncing back to form.

A consistent performer in 2020, David O’Meara’s charge gained a deserved success on his final start at Haydock when wearing first-time cheekpieces, which appeared to make a difference as he found plenty under pressure to produce arguably a career-best effort.

The cheekpieces were left off for his run on the Knavesmire this month, and it looks significant that they are re-applied here.

A mile is his optimum trip, and while he may not have as much potential as some of his rivals, he is sure to give his running now he has a run under his belt and is worth chancing at 14-1.

Daniel Tudhope, who guided the selection to victory at Haydock last year, is on board again and the in-form rider has been operating at a strike-rate of over 30 per cent in the past fortnight.

Backing a horse that has run 16 times since his last victory isn’t usually appealing as a strategy, but Pistoletto proved on more than one occasion last year that he retains enough ability to land a race of this nature.

Formerly trained by Aidan O’Brien, the four-year-old finished second at Group Three level as a two-year-old and was set some difficult tasks before joining John Ryan.

Since being gelded towards the end of last year, Pistoletto has produced a handful of decent efforts, including twice over course and distance in similar contests to this, and the form of both races has worked out well.

A repeat of either of those efforts would see him go close here, and he travelled well before fading on his return to action suggesting the run was needed.

There are plenty of other contenders you can make a case for, but at 22-1, I’m happy to side with Pistoletto each-way.

A fiercely competitive race on paper, but the progressive Makram looks to hold strong claims following his effort in a similar grade to this at York last time out.

His pedigree, and the way he had shaped over seven furlongs and a mile, suggested he was going to improve for a step up in trip and he found only the useful Surrey Pride too good on the Knavesmire.

He surely has more to offer over ten furlongs and good ground should hold no fears for him plus the likelihood of a strong pace will only help.

Stall four should also allow him to get a good position early and his trainer, Roger Charlton, has won this race with a similarly progressive type in the past.

At 6-1, Makram is Monday's nap, and I'll also be putting the first two selections in an each-way trixie with him.