Liam Firkin picks out two value bets for Tuesday's horse racing action at Newcastle and Bangor.
14:01 – NEWCASTLESee All Odds
TIP 1: NATIONAL QUESTION – 0.75 Pts EW
Best odds of 7/1 at William Hill at the time of posting.
This race has been a starting point for this six-year-old gelding in each of the last two seasons and the performances on show from both of those races would suggest that he is a horse who can put his best foot forward when fresh.
A winner here last season on reappearance when leading home a field of eleven runners and a narrow runner up effort two years ago when sent off at huge odds of 40/1 provide plenty of reassurance that not only does the horse perform following a break, but also that this course and distance are to his liking.
He is just 3lbs higher than when scoring at Carlisle in March and that form has been given a boost that would suggest he can remain competitive off this higher official rating. Mr Lincoln was back in second, and he has gone up the handicap by 5lbs subsequently which is due to his most recent run at Hexham where he was an easy 8L winner.
The form boost does not stop there though with the third horse from that race at Carlisle having been in great form since and has amassed four victories and a couple of second place finishes which has resulted in a 12lbs rise in the weights. Should NATIONAL QUESTION have the same scope for improvement then he is likely to show it back at a course where he has performed admirably in the past and a bit of overnight support in the market provides further evidence that a big run could be on the cards.
16:16 – BANGOR ON DEESee All Odds
TIP 2: GASMANI – 0.5 Pts EW
Best odds of 16/1 at WIlliam Hill at the time of posting.
Jonathan Burke takes the ride for David Dennis in this staying chase, and he is having an exceptional start to the 26-27 season with a current strike rate of 25% which is made up of 7 winners from his last 28 rides and he can add to this today with GASMANI.
The Dennis runner arrives here with the benefit of a prep run, which no doubt will have helped bring him forward for this staying contest. That first run was over the intermediate trip at Worcester where he was held up before plugging on to finish fourth.
That run was no doubt an educational exercise for connections with this seven-year-old gelding having undergone a wind operation and there was no doubt some element of ‘fact finding’ as to its effectiveness. He now steps back up in trip and appears for the second time following that procedure which should see him to better effect.
He is a point-to-point winner which could suggest that there is improvement to come over fences today and I would be expectant to see him ridden more prominently than on recent efforts to allow him to get into a nice rhythm and if doing so then there is no reason as to why he can’t outrun his odds and add to Burke’s nice tally of winners that he’s already secured in the early weeks of the season.
