Saturday's Racing Tips: Biggles to fly home at Salisbury

It was a mistake going with this horse from the widest draw at York last time and he never looked likely to figure but things will hopefully be very different here in this lower-grade handicap.

He has won two sprints around a bend at Chelmsford for his new connections so this track should suit (and he has run two good races here early in his career). He relishes the prevailing conditions and is likely to be to the fore from the start under his excellent 3lb claimer. I feel he still has improvement in him for Robert Cowell.

Hopefully it will be chocs away for this improver against a fair field of sprinters. He has obviously had issues having missed his three-year-old season, but broke his maiden on his second start after an absence in a modest all-aged maiden on the all weather over this trip. However he signalled he was worth putting in the tracker with a very good second over seven furlongs at Newmarket last time where he finished five lengths clear of the third horse, Rodin.

He perhaps didn’t quite get home on that occasion and this drop down to a stiff six furlongs looks ideal. Ralph Beckett is a top trainer at this track (with five winners from just 10 runners here so far this year) and has his horses in excellent form. Biggles is drawn next to the only pace runner in this race and should get a very good tow into the race, so has everything in his favour here.

The absences that punctuate this good stayer's career cannot be ignored, but the excellent David Menusier has been patient with him and if he has him in any sort of form for this first start of the year, I believe he could be seriously well handicapped.

Chiave Di Volta has been dropped 7lb since his last run in a turf handicap back in 2018, presumably due to his time away from the track. He wasn’t beaten far by Ghostwatch on that occasion and that one ended up a Listed-grade performer.

He may well need the run but he goes on the ground and gets the trip and I feel nowadays good trainers do not run fragile horses unless they are fit to do themselves justice. At the forecast big odds I thinking it is worth risking him, especially with extra places likely to be offered in each-way markets with some firms. Obviously market clues will be useful though - a massive drift might mean we will have to wait a bit longer!