We managed a small profit from the opening day at Chelmsford City (formerly known as Great Leighs) and the general consensus was that it was a fair racing surface. That is good news for flat racing fans who like a flutter on the all-weather through the long winter months.
The action on the sand switches to Southwell on Tuesday and a six-race card featuring a host of familiar names. In the opening race I’m going to take a chance on Novalist who recorded back-to-back victories here before getting trailing in a disappointing sixth last time.
For reasons known only to connections, he raced without his usual blinkers that day and was always struggling. He was also tackling beyond a mile for the first time. He has the headgear restored on Tuesday and we will know our fate within a furlong or so. The main danger is probably the top weight, Queen Of Skies. She is another course winner and has been very consistent for the Appleby stable.
The second race on the card features a re-match between Eium Mac and General Tufto. Last week we sided with the former but he was just run out of it in the final furlong by the ten-year-old. I just wonder whether Raul Da Silva will try to delay his challenge a little longer this time. He was out in front from the two-furlong pole last time and now has a 6lbs pull with General Tufto.
The early money appears to be for Sleet who lost any chance when squeezed out at the start last time. You could make a case for him here but he is yet to win in ten starts and I’m happy to take him on at odds of around 5-2.
Hayley Turner will be a popular choice in the third race aboard Excelling Oscar. He is yet another course and distance winner and holds Never Easy on recent form. There are bits of form that tie in here with Bannister Bell and I’m going to side with More Drama, trained by Sylvester Kirk. She ran well in a very competitive race won by Splash Of Verve at Wolverhampton before fading into midfield at Kempton.
My final bet of the day is for Extreme Supreme in the five-furlong dash. He made his debut at Royal Ascot last summer and he obviously wasn’t up to that class. However, he has steadily improved with racing and is on a hat-trick over course and distance. He wasn’t knocked around last time and could be up to defying a 6lbs rise for Derek Shaw and Patrick Mathers.
Novalist 1.15 @6-1 Ladbrokes
Eium Mac 1.45 @5-2 Bet365
More Drama 2.15 @7-1 Bet365
Extreme Supreme 3.25 @4-1 Paddy Power
