Mark Rowntree shares his five best bets across four different meetings on Tuesday, with all the action from Ayr and Cork live on Racing TV.
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2.02 Bath: Decalogue
With cheekpieces fitted, Decalogue finished strongly to make the breakthrough over a mile at Kempton a fortnight ago.
A sound surface is important to Jamie Osborne’s three-year-old – twice declared a non-runner on Good to Soft and Soft – and, judging by the forecast, he should have suitable conditions at Bath.
Mason Paetel takes over in the saddle in this Apprentices’ Handicap, with a 3lb rise for Kempton manageable. Furthermore, this longer trip of 1m2f is highly likely to play to his strengths.
2.08 Ayr: Arkenstaar
Empirestateofmind (course and distance form figures 211) has his optimum conditions and, with Jack Callan booked, ticks plenty of the required boxes. However, at potentially more rewarding odds, Arkenstaar piqued my interest.
The Michael Dods-trained six-year-old , who is admittedly a Hamilton specialist, has had a quiet season with a backend campaign in mind. This confirmed mudlark has stable apprentice Rhys Elliott aboard for the first time and is entitled to strip fitter for Carlisle.
Interestingly, if successful, he’d escape a penalty (apprentices’) and would have the option of heading to Pontefract next Monday for the Napoleans Casino Bradford Handicap, a race he won last year from a near-identical mark.
2.15 Sedgefield: Cawthorne Cracker
Small fields are prevalent at Sedgefield, where the gritty Kelso winner Cawthorne Cracker bids to win the opening Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle for the second time in three years.
This a race that Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero appear to target – the yard also won it in 2022 with Lucky Lover Boy – and the capable Ben Smith’s 6lb claim is a bonus. This seven-year-old should make the most of the weight that he receives from topweight Spartan Times.
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2.25 Cork: Pink Venom (Nap)
Johnny Murtagh wastes no time bringing last week’s well-backed Fairyhouse winner Pink Venom back to the track.
This €85,000 yearling readily accounted for stablemate Prince Of Peppard on that nursery debut, and is still potentially well treated from her revised mark of 76 (9lb higher).
Her unraced dam Periwinkle was a half-sister to a seven-furlong heavy-ground juvenile winner, which further boosts confidence that the selection can negotiate the rain-softened conditions at the Munster venue.
4.40 Ayr: Lord Bertie
Given his tendency to miss the break, there are clear risks associated with Lord Bertie. However, he has become too well handicapped to ignore, now 12lb lower than back on seasonal reappearance in March.
David O’Meara’s six-year-old finished runner-up to Rousing Encore (narrowly beaten in the Ayr Bronze Cup recently) in this contest last year and gave notice he was on the way back to better from at Haydock last time.
He goes well for Mark Winn and has produced the bulk of his best efforts on either Soft or Heavy ground, one of those when beating this year’s Ayr Silver Cup winner Station X from 8lb higher at Doncaster last October.