Sunday Racing Tips from Architect

SOARING GLORY (best price 5/4) is the class act in the field and could be too good for these if able to translate his hurdles ability to this sphere. He won last year’s Betfair Hurdle and ran a blinder when fifth in this year’s renewal, where he was in second until a bad mistake at the last hurdle cost him a top-three finish. The seven-year-old has an excellent record fresh which reads 111, so his fitness shouldn’t be an issue and he must therefore have an excellent chance off level weights if his jumping can pass the test. 

The Ben Clarke-trained JUST A DIME (best price 2/1) hasn’t been seen since March but he looked a horse with a lot of ability when beating a useful field on his rules debut, including Trelawne, who won a decent pot a few days ago to advertise the form. The six-year-old looked comfortable on the soft ground and conditions will be quite similar here, so he’ll be at ease on the ground. He has a penalty to carry on his return but he has more to offer and could defy it against a hurdles debutant and a horse who was comfortably beaten at Cheltenham last time. 

The Troytown Chase is always a tough puzzle to solve but LIFETIME AMBITION (best price 9/1) could be a solid each-way option for the Jessica Harrington team here. He returned from a sixth month break to finish fourth in the Grand Sefton at Aintree, where he jumped and travelled really well, before finding no extra from the famous elbow. He’s entitled to be a lot fitter now and he handles soft ground really well too. 

He won on his first start over three-miles in a Grade Three event when beating subsequent winner Darren’s Hope and then ran a really nice race to finish second in a Grade One behind Capodanno. A repeat performance of that effort here with a seven-pounds claimer booked to ride would surely see this seven-year-old run a big race. I think he’s been underestimated here and given he’s only been out of the top-four once in eighteen starts which proves his ultra-consistency, he makes lots of each-way appeal with most firms going five places. 

THE GALLOPING BEAR (best price 15/8) might be lightly-raced but he’s a really good horse and is four-from-four on soft or worse ground under rules. He looked like he was going to run a big race on his hurdles debut at Chepstow last year until falling three out but won his next two chase starts, including the Grand National trial last time, only to be disqualified the other week due to an alleged ‘banned substance.’ He hasn’t been seen since but he’ll love the ground and is well-handicapped off a mark of 133 compared to his chase mark which is in the 140’s (defied 140 last time when beating Bristol De Mai at his beloved Haydock). 

UPTON ROAD (best price 8/1) had just the one start over hurdles and connections wasted no time in sending him over fences next time, for which he’s shown potential and promise in both his starts. He shaped better than the beaten margin indicated on chase debut here and made his reappearance this term in a high-quality Listed event at this course over two-miles, four-furlongs. He ultimately finished last of seven runners but it seemed like that reappearance was used to get a handy mark ahead of his handicap debut plus he’ll have come on for the run too. He takes a big drop in grade and should be suited to this three-mile distance, so I can see him outrunning his odds given he’s the least exposed in the field.