Monday's racing tips: Kiss can strike under Hollie Doyle at Kempton

Difficult times, and it can seem like racing is a bit of a triviality at times, when of course it is a huge industry maintaining tens of thousands of jobs and it remains essential that the show goes on as best it can.

Owners will find out on Monday whether that involves their continued limited attendance, or not.

That’s not the only concerning issue for racing at present though. When Jim Bolger says there is a problem, it’s probably wise to listen. Age has not turned Bolger into a cantankerous reactionary. If anything, I suspect it’s made him wiser and possibly a little more mellow.

Look for his interview from the other day with Daragh Ó Conchúir on the Irish Field website. It’s well worth the free sign-up required.

Rain has reached Plumpton since declarations were made, which puts me off looking at the ex-Flat horses here – this has always been a track for stout hearts, strong pedigrees and the hope that the train driver will remember to stop, or it can be a long, cold, dark, hour-long wait for the next one.

Anthony Honeyball’s runners are all going well and this mare’s bumper form looks significantly stronger than that achieved by Jungle Prose.

A race I like the make-up of, with Olly Murphy being responsible for the hot favourite. Murphy has had a few run unaccountably poorly in recent days, including at the weekend.

He’s too good a trainer not to turn things around shortly, but I definitely want to be against anything at a short price from the yard and, in receipt of 7lb, Blame The Game must be a bet at the forecast odds.

The form of his third at Fontwell last month has been boosted twice since, most recently by Fifty Game’s success at Ascot on Saturday.

A daughter of a very smart jumping mare, she has proved a bit of a black sheep, and definitely had a bit of think about whether she really wanted to do it when slowly away before winning at Taunton on her most recent appearance.

However, she is with a trainer who specialises in giving his horses time and patience and I’d definitely be prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt in a real marathon contest such as this.

I was impressed by the ride Joe Anderson gave his mount when winning a similar ‘hands and heels’ contest to this last week.

This is not a weak race and backing a six-year-old mare off a career-high mark certainly requires a degree of courage, but John Bridger fans (of which I am one) have seen this sort of thing before.

Delicate Kiss came from an unpromising position to nab second at Chelmsford last time and it’s interesting to see the partnership with Hollie Doyle maintained.

She’s in the form of her life and is so consistent that I have to back her each-way in the hope that Fred or Corazon Espinado will go off sufficiently quick to bring her strong finish into play.