Sunday Racing Tips from Architect

The Milton Harris-trained FIRE LAKE (best price 12-1) showed a good level of form in bumpers and while she could only finish fifth last month on her second go in this sphere, she travelled strongly throughout and is open to further improvement. Hellfire Princess won well on debut but she might meet her match in the shape of the former, who is likely to come from off the pace and have her cards played very late here. The form of her listed bumper fifth has worked out strongly with the race producing two subsequent winners in this sphere and, with conditions in her favour, I think she’s the best each-way bet in the opener. 

TOWN PARKS (best price 9-1) hasn’t really cut much ice in three subsequent starts but the return to his favourite venue could spark him back to life and he’s evidently well-treated too. Kerry Lee has her term in good form of late and this eleven-year-old is a dual course winner, who was successful off a 7Ib higher mark on his last visit here in a class-three. He hasn’t been able to match that form since but this isn’t the strongest of contests in the world and Daire McConville’s useful 10Ib claim is a huge plus too. He’s up against a variety of horses who have been threatening to get their head in front but he comes out best at the weights judged on official ratings (highest rated) and is the each-way play at double-figure digits. 

MONMIRAL (best price 3-1) surrendered his unbeaten record when only fifth in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle last time but he was reported to have finished lame and has been given plenty of time to get over that disappointment. He was sent off second-favourite that day which tells you how highly-regarded he is and his earlier juvenile hurdles form is seriously strong, including when easily beating Adagio in a Grade 1 at Aintree. Paul Nicholls has said that his main target will be back at Aintree during the Grand National meeting so if that is going to happen, he’ll need to go close in today’s event and therefore gets the vote to land the Grade 2 National Spirit Hurdle. 

This is a wide open handicap and the price tag about LA CAVSA NOSTRA (best price 14-1) significantly underestimates his chances here. His return to action can easily be overlooked, where he was badly hampered by a faller early on and that incident seemed to knock his confidence too as he made a lot of mistakes afterwards before being pulled up at the halfway stage. He was also coming back from an 800 day absence so would have needed the run. However, back in 2019 he had made an excellent start to his chasing career, winning two of his four starts, including when beating the 136-rated Christmas In April in the first of them by six lengths. He was then sent off a warm favourite at Warwick next time but unseated his rider early, though he comfortably made amends next time, beating the 150-rated Lord Du Mesnil and he was actually giving the runner-up a bit of weight too. It’s hard to gauge on whether he retains that sort of ability but those couple of chase victories are the best form on display as none of the others can boast comparable ammunition. He looks seriously underrated in the Sky Sports Racing Conditional Jockeys' Veterans' Handicap Chase given the fact that if he can get back to his best, he would surely be too good for these.