Thursday Racing Tips from Architect

Karl Burke’s team are absolutely flying in recent weeks, who’s operating at an impressive 24% strike-rate himself over the last two weeks and this appears to be a good opportunity for JUNGLE TIME (best price 7/4) to gain a second career success in just five starts. She could only finish third of four last time but that was against higher rated opponents and it was her fourth start within a month so maybe a break since will have done her the world of good.

She caught the eye two starts ago in a Listed event at York to finish seventh and she drops significantly in grade for today’s opener. Jungle Fever also drops in class but he was well beaten in a Group Two last time and he had only just scrambled home on his penultimate start. Karl Burke’s filly, on the other hand, gets six pounds from Mark Johnston’s charge here and that should be more than enough to see her come out on top in this small-field event. 

This is a weak contest and, at the odds, I am siding with ELLIE PIPER (best price 9/1) who’s been competing in stronger events than this without threatening in each of them. Her only previous start over this trip saw her finish sixth behind Nine Tales in a class five event and that form looks really solid in the context of this easier assignment. This filly hasn’t been able to land a blow in two starts since going into handicaps but she’s fallen to a handy mark of 50 and that’s without her rider's claim taken into account. Off this mark at this level, she makes plenty of each-way appeal and actually remains rated higher than the favourite too. She’s worth an interest at the morning odds. 

ATHEEB (best price 9/1) hasn’t shown much in four starts for this stable but the five-year-old scored off an eight pounds higher mark last August in a class four event when beating a horse rated 80. He drops into a class five for the first time in his career today and he has the vital experience of this course too, having finished a close-up third over seven furlongs which came off 80. He isn’t the most straightforward of horses but he’s down to a career-low mark of 70 here and conditions are absolutely ideal. If he can rediscover some of last year’s form for his new handler, he would certainly be good enough to win this race.