Best From The West - April 23

The Daniel Morton trained Dainty Tess returned in great order last start and is the clear benchmark in the opening race at Ascot on Saturday.

Having only tasted defeat once in her career the daughter of War Chant displayed good improvement off a break and is clearly heading in the right direction.

The step up to 1200m will no doubt suit and although drawn awkwardly Dainty Tess should have the class to overcome it.

Leading rider William Pike sticks aboard and if circumstances allow, he is likely to roll forward from the outset.

On last start figures Dainty Tess has a distinct edge over his rivals and more notably returned time figures ahead of the bare form — suggests she can springboard off that mark again.

Pike is unbeaten aboard the filly and with all things being equal he looks inline to bring up the hat-trick.

Better than even money is being offered about her chances which is a more than worthy gamble.

If priced aggressively we have Dainty Tess marked closer to a $1.60 chance and hence we are very happy to line up and take the price on offer.

While not yet up to the standard of the 2YOs we saw last weekend she is progressive and is on upwards rating spiral.

If able to continue that progression she is likely to set the bar too high for her rivals.

The Adam Durrant trained Caralabek returned in great order over the mile two back before only narrowly beaten here last start.

A key sectional star on that occasion Caralabek is clearly a galloper heading in the right direction and should be right at his peak racing third up.

The drop back to 1800m should suit and with Pike sticking aboard he hopefully can settle a bit closer to the speed this time around.

On last start figures he sits clear and if able to raise the bar further he obviously looks to set a decent standard for his rivals.

A winner of three of his seven starts he has only missed the money once and notably beat three subsequent winners first up.

Unlike a majority of his rivals Caralabek is yet to reach his respective mark and remains open to further improvement moving forward.

Backmarkers are generally low percentage, however trust in the Wizard to present him at the right time and he should prove hard to beat.

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BET OF THE DAY (1): Race 1 #1 Dainty Tess @ $2.20

BET OF THE DAY (2): Race 5 #3 Caralabek @ $3.50