Thursday Racing Tips From Architect

HAYADH (NAP) (best price 7/4) has been a grand servant over the years and all of his wins have been from marks/ratings of 88 or higher during his career alongside placing multiple times off higher marks too. The last time he competed over course-and-distance was off a mark of 81 in a class two event where he was narrowly denied in second place. He’s always run well at this course and he’s shaped well on both starts this year in a pair of class four events. Essentially, he’s down to a career-low mark of 77 and Sam James, who was last successful on him, is back in the saddle. This is the first time he’s going to compete in a class five and, with a lot in his favour, his class should prove decisive against this field.

MATTICE (best price 9/2) has let us down the last twice but this should reveal a lot more and I’m fully convinced he has the ability to capitalise on this mark before too long. He’s shown a lot of speed on more than one occasion and this represents another drop in grade off a three-pound lower mark than last time. In this smaller-field scenario, Duran Fentiman might be able to dictate matters from the front and while his mount is up against some promising types, his valuable experience should see him hang in there a bit longer which might be enough to see Tim Easterby’s charge prevail. 

Karl Burke’s SIGNIFICANTLY (best price 9/1) has to shoulder one hell of a big weight but he’s a classy sprinter on his day and having undergone wind surgery since last time, he should make a bold effort. His best form has come over five-furlongs, in which he recorded back-to-back wins, including in a high-quality handicap at Royal Ascot and was also a very good fourth in a Group Three event, but he remains unexposed over this distance. He shaped as if needing the run on his return from seven months off last time and it’s interesting to see him back over six-furlongs, as the last time he ran over the trip, he ran a huge race to finish a one-length second to Group 1 winner Creative Force. He’s expected to leave his seasonal debut behind and he looks the most overpriced horse with a chance of winning the race.

WONDERFUL WORLD (best price 6/1) is a very useful sort, who’s got some strong form to his name and looks ready to go really close in this event. He was a good second to Chipotle on debut and having opened his account at the third time of asking at Brighton, he ran a solid race to finish sixth of 20 at York behind the classy Flaming Rib. He could only muster eight in a listed event next time but shaped better than the beaten margin indicated and, back in October, he was beaten just a length by Gisburn. He then returned a comfortable winner on his final start of the campaign and caught the eye on seasonal reappearance at Goodwood in a class two event. With every chance of stripping fitter off a two-pound lower mark with George Bass claiming another five-pounds, he could be extremely competitive off a feather weight. 

CADILLAC (best price 6/4) was below form when only sixth last time but gets one more chance to rediscover his best form which would certainly be enough to see him go close to winning this listed event for the Jessie Harrington and Shane Foley combination. He’s back down in class and remains the highest-rated runner in the field with the good ground right up his street. The six-year-old has an excellent record at this venue with two wins and a third from three starts and this former Group Two winner ran a monster race to finish fourth in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf. The application of cheekpieces will go in use here and if he can produce his best, which he’s more than capable of doing, he should return to the winner’s enclosure at the expense of Patrick Sarsfield. 

Later on, JACK’S POINT (best price 16/1) is fancied to ruffle a few feathers in the Racing Welfare Handicap at Chelmsford. He’s closely matched with Crimson Sand and is only a pound higher than his last winning mark in which he beat Night On Earth who is now rated 95. He did well to win on that occasion considering he was stopped in his tracks at a crucial stage and he ran well under a big weight on the turf last time at Leicester. He was rated as high as 100 less than two years ago and has plenty of quality form in his locker, including when second in the Buckingham Palace at Royal Ascot two years ago off a mark of 96. That proves his capabilities and if he gets a clear passage, he’s got a massive chance.