Monday Racing Tips from Architect

Len Brennan returned to winning ways on his debut for Milton Harris last week and while he’s off the same mark here, I think he represents poor value at the odds and I will take a chance on a couple of well-treated individuals at double-figure digits, who make plenty of each-way appeal in the opener. 

BRIAN BORANHA (best price 33-1) has invariably kept stronger company than this throughout his chasing career and is a pound lower than when successful back in November which came in a class three event. He hasn’t been able to replicate that performance in two subsequent starts but he’s down a couple of grades here and the last time he competed at this venue resulted with victory off an eight-pound higher mark and, again, that was in a class three event. He’s practically proven himself to be better than this grade numerous times, stays really well, has course winning form and has a good partnership with today’s rider Callum Bewley. At 33/1, he has a decent each-way shout at the prices. 

The other one I like is COBRA DE MAI (best price 14-1), another grade-dropper, who has mostly contested higher-grade events than this during his career and must have solid each-way credentials off a basement mark in this grade in which his record at this level in this sphere reads three-from-three. He hasn’t won for a long time but he beat some very good horses when defying a mark of 142 at one point and his earlier second to the highly-progressive Saint Palais looks the best form on offer. He was conceding the winner a lot of weight, too, who subsequently won off 135 at Newbury, so he’s evidently well treated at present off 119. On that evidence, alongside all his other good-quality form, including when rated as high as 150 in his prime, he’s entitled to be extremely competitive back over his optimum distance under Jack Quinlan.

JANTE LAW (best price 13-2) has been absent since May last year so his fitness has to be taken on trust but he completed a double at Hexham against useful opponents when last spotted and makes his handicap debut off a workable mark with potential for better this term. He’s proven on testing conditions and the change to positive tactics has certainly contributed to his improvement. He has already mixed it with the likes of Tommy’s Oscar and Ahoy Senor under rules and hasn’t looked back since scoring at the second time of asking in this sphere when beating a 125-rated rival. Jamie Hamilton gets on well with the six-year-old and, with most of the remainder having questions to answer, he could be the answer to this affair as he seeks the hat-trick. 

This shouldn’t take a lot of winning and that should present TARSEEM (NAP) (best price 15-4) with an excellent opportunity to get off the mark under the services of Jack Andrews. A four-year-old who has displayed promise in each of his three starts, he enters this grade for the first time off a very fair opening mark in this weak contest. In all of his efforts to date, the winner has been rated higher than 120 and he’s placed in two of them, so tackling opponents rated no higher than 102 in this event makes this a far more simple task. He’s undergone wind surgery since he was last in action and, with more to come, allied to his claimer taking off five-pounds, it would be a major surprise if this gelding by Dawn Approach couldn’t capitalise on a mark of 95 (claimers rider taken into account) in this winnable contest with the remainder either looking handicapped to the hilt or simply not good enough.