Horse racing tips: Duran can hit winning groove

Duran broke his maiden at Brighton on the only previous time trainer Nigel Tinkler travelled this gelding down south and this moderately-contested Ascot handicap looks a good chance of another successful southern raid.

The eye is drawn to the booking of Tom Marquand for Duran, who ran a very promising race on his reappearance at Beverley last week when finishing after possibly getting to the front fractionally too early to withstand a late challenge. 

Duran improved steadily throughout last season and, based on that last run, might continue on his upward curve for a little while longer.

Ed Dunlop’s four-year-old is lightly raced and has clearly been difficult to train, but he came good at Southwell last time when winning a modest maiden by three lengths. 

The handicapper has not reassessed him from his previous mark of 82 for that win in modest company, but if that victory is a signal that his problems are behind him then this formerly promising gelding may have a way to go up the handicap yet. 

Superposition has a decent draw in stall 3 and the stable is going pretty well at present. 

There won’t be too many readers - if any - who were alive to remember the death of Manny Mercer, whom this race commemorates and who  was killed at Ascot in 1959. Even his more famous brother Joe - who rode runner-up Bustino in the “race of the century” in the 1975 King George against Grundy - is becoming a fading memory. I love the respect shown by continuing with these traditional names, but I do wonder if this particular one could have just about had its time. 

I am pretty certain both the Mercer brothers would have loved to be booked to ride My Cloud in this handicap as Roger Varian’s four-year-old does look a bit of a “blot” being allotted a mark of 80 for this handicap debut. 

He won his maiden by an effortless 13 lengths on his final appearance last season, and while for sure that was a modest affair e had run two promising races before that gifted opportunity. 

This is his seasonal reappearance but, given the way Varian’s runners have been performing this spring, I don’t expect My Cloud to need the race too much. Indeed, given this is an apprentice handicap and he has two further entries back at Newcastle, I am wondering if Varian intends to win again quickly without getting a penalty.