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UK and Maydan Racing Tips – Thursday 13 February 2020

UK Racing Tips - Thursday 13 February 2020

Neil Morrice brings us all of his best bets and tips for Thursday’s racing at Chelmsford and Leicester. 


Chelmsford 
Best Bet

Race 1: GARSMAN (3)
Trainer: Mike Appleby 
Jockey: Adam Kirby 

GARSMAN created a minor shock when trotting up as the outsider of three on his reappearance at Southwell. Moving up to the longer sprint distance here, he can prove it was no fluke on the way to a bountiful campaign on the all-weather.

Race 5: THE GAME IS ON (5) 
Trainer: Sir Mark Prescott 
Jockey: Ryan Tate 

The absence of Thai Terrier has made this more straightforward for THE GAME IS ON who had the misfortune to run into rejuvenated Noble Peace at Lingfield last month. The blinkered 4yo cops plenty of weight from his foes and after two near misses can make it third time lucky.

Race 7: CREATIVE TALENT (9) (Each Way)
Trainer: Tony Carroll 
Jockey: George Downing 

Having ended the 2019 campaign with a run that strongly suggests a longer trip is required, CREATIVE TALENT can now go one better for a yard that has its all-weather team in top order. The selection was doing all his best work at the finish behind Odds On Oli at Wolverhampton.

Leicester Best Bets

Race 2: DAME DU SOIR (2) 
Trainer: David Bridgwater 
Jockey: Brendan Powell


DAME DU SOIR hasn’t done much wrong in her three chase outings this season, latterly being beaten for finishing speed by King Of May at Sedgefield. She’s a proficient jumper whose style of racing should be better suited to this course with its long home straight and can bounce back.

Race 3: FIRST FLOW (1)
Trainer: Kim Bailey  
Jockey: David Bass 

The gallant FIRST FLOW is a committed pace setter whose slick jumping was again evident at Sandown last time. Heavily backed, his undoing was the final climb to the winning post on which the useful Dolos reeled him in. On this flatter terrain and with more fences to jump in the home straight the 8yo can go 9ne better.

Race 7: JUST CAUSE (8) 
Trainer: J P Owen  

Having been hugely impressive in the latest of two successes between the flags at Higham, JUST CAUSE can transfer his obvious well being to the hunter-chase arena. Odds-on and given a confident ride, he came home a distance clear of Sugar Baron that day, and is one to take seriously.

Meydan Preview

18.15 Race – BALANCHINE (Group 2)

Commemorating the filly that gave Godolphin it’s first Classic winner in the Oaks at Epsom, the Balanchine has duly been dominated by Sheikh Mohammed’s operation over the years and history can repeat itself this evening. Three of the eight starters will carry the badge of blue and while DUBAI BLUE looks out of her depth both MAGIC LILY and DIVINE IMAGE hold very strong claims. Eight winners of the Cape Verdi Stakes have gone on to capture this prize, a race that signals the Carnival is really hotting up, and Magic Lily will start a warm order to make that a ninth. She prevailed by just a short head over an inadequate mile and is opposed by six of the seven fillies that finished behind her but trainer Charlie Appleby is more than hopeful that she can defy a penalty, having needed her race and come on for it.

With William Buick riding Magic Lily, James Doyle is aboard Divine Image who Appleby describes as having a few quirks. However, the trainer insists that her one disappointing previous outing on turf is best forgotten as she hated the soft going. The main threat to the Godolphin spearhead looks to be the Japanese challenge of NISREEN who hasn’t seen much mileage in the past year but has solid form behind her with French ace Pierre-Charles Boudot in the saddle.

Prediction 
1st DIVINE IMAGE
2nd Magic Lily
3rd Nisreen

19.25 Firebreak Stakes (Group 3)

The dirt feature of the night, the Firebreak sees two past winners locking horns in the shape of 2019 scorer MUNTAZAH and the 2018 victor HEAVY METAL. Now aged 10, eight-time winner here Heavy Metal is in the evening of his career and recent evidence from the track suggests he will struggle. But Muntazah has last year’s winning pilot Jim Crowley back in the irons for trainer Doug Watson and the combination should go off marginal favourites over CAPPEZZANO, a multiple scorer for Salem bin Ghadayer here last year. The hooded 6yo is the subject of favourable reports for this stepping stone to the Saudi Cup in two weeks followed by the Dubai World Cup itself here in late March.

Watson also fields THEGREATCOLLECTION and QUIP, the latter having given out some positive signals on the training track, while Ghadayer has a fascinating new recruit in MATTTERHORN who is having a first outing since leaving Mark Johnston. Ghadayer feels the 5yo will improve for the run which is designed to bring him to concert pitch for the ‘Super Saturday’ fixture, though this bold front runner could set a target from an ideal berth in stall two.

Prediction
1st MATTERHORN
2nd Capezzano
3rd Muntazah
4th Quip

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