Sam King arrives fresh off the back of a 15/2 winner at Sandown yesterday and he returns with three Saturday selections…
There is some extremely competitive action from York this afternoon, none more so than the Oakmere Homes Supporting Macmillan Sprint Heritage Handicap at 3.40.
It's no surprise to see 21 go to post in this staggeringly competitive affair but it does ensure punters some value and attractive each-way terms.
Much like his trainer Charlie Hills, I've been sweet on Rabaah ever since he made an eye-catching debut when third at Leicester last season.
The form of his two all-weather novice wins this season is nothing to write home about but he quickened up in the manner of a really smart horse when defying a penalty to score by four-and-three-quarter lengths at Wolverhampton in February.
I was slightly surprised that connections decided to bypass a handicap option given he was handed an opening mark of 90 but they instead opted for the Listed Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury and clearly hold this colt in some regard. He simply ran too free on that occasion, and it was probably credit to his raw ability that he was only beaten about five lengths when finishing back in fifth.
A 7lb rise for that effort makes life slightly tougher but I'm still adamant this is a stakes performer operating in handicap company and there could easily be bundles more to come now tackling a quick surface on turf for the first time.
Jim Crowley should get a nice spot from stall seven and the likely frantic gallop will certainly help his case for settling better.
Selection: Rabaah – General 11/1
Our second wager also comes from York and I'm opting to tackle yet another brutally competitive handicap in search of a nice price winner.
The Clean Up With PPS Handicap at 5.25 sees 15 go to post and it's Soldier's Minute that I think could be the answer.
Keith Dalgleish's eight-year-old looks on a really workable mark and has run much better in his three outings this season than form figures suggest.
Big fields seem to bring the best out of him on turf and the two recent eight-runner affairs weren't really run to suit. He received absolutely no run when a luckless thirteenth over course and distance in May and would almost certainly have finished in the top six or seven with a run.
The son of Raven's Pass now finds himself 7b lower than when runner-up in the Ayr Silver Cup back in 2021 and clearly still has the ability to play a major role off this mark.
A strong pace over a course and distance he clearly enjoys looks ideal and I'm expecting a bold showing from him now he's dropped to Class 4 company.
Selection: Soldier's Minute – General 11/1
We head to Leicester for our third and final wager. The Signfab (UK) Handicap at 6.25 looks like a decent sprint for the grade and I'm taking a chance on Crime Fiction bouncing back to his best for Adrian Nicholls.
There aren't many yards in better form than the Adrian Nicholls team at present with the Thirsk-based trainer boasting an impressive 44% (4-9) strike-rate over the last fortnight. To add to that impressive figure six of his last thirteen runners at Leicester have found the winners' enclosure.
A truly run five furlongs looks just what Crime Fiction needs and the daughter of El Kabeir should get that this evening. She stayed on powerfully to get up close home over this trip at Musselburgh two starts ago and just couldn't get rolling in time when fifth at Thirsk earlier in the month.
A mark of 62 still looks workable based on her Redcar novice win last season for previous connections and at a general price of 12/1 she looks like value for a stable that is simply in red-hot form.
Selection: Crime Fiction – General 12/1
