The Student Punter

  14:45 Goodwood This is exactly the type of puzzle I like to pick apart and there's one line of form which brings a lot of these horses together, the Royal Hunt Cup last month. Montatham  finished second in the Ascot contest and made amends next time when reversing the form with Dark Vision on 3lb better terms at Sandown. That horse has since won a listed race so it's easy to see why William Haggas' grey is near the front of the market at the time of writing. Vale Of Kent , Afaak  and Baltic Baron  all ran respectable races in the aforementioned Hunt Cup and it's the latter who looks the value in this Golden Mile. Baltic Baron  ran an absolute blinder in that Ascot heat, he was still last of the 23 runners at the furlong pole but made good late ground to run on into fifth. The front two have obviously advertised the form well since and the sixth, Bell Rock, ran very well here this week when third in a big handicap on Tuesday.  Montatham  is now 7...

13:45 Goodwood I was going to leave Thursday's Goodwood card alone but there is one that has tempted me in for a small bet.   Bright Melody  hasn't looked the easiest of rides so far but I think he provides a good each-way alternative to the less exposed market leaders here. The son of Dubai won on debut at Kempton back in January before finishing a creditable third over 1m2f at the same venue when racing returned in June. He missed the kick, didn't have the clearest of runs and was forced wider than the first two home when third that day but stayed on well to close on the leaders late on. The two who finished in front that day have certainly advertised the form well since, Berlin Tango ran a blinder in the Hampton Court at Royal Ascot on his next start finishing third despite carrying a 4lb penalty. Also, the 40/1 second from that Kempton contest went on to win the King Edward VII stakes on his next start in pretty impressive fashion. Bright Melody was sent off favourite...

14:15 Goodwood His opening handicap mark is certainly no gift but the way Sarvan  extended his long stride to pull away from the odds on favourite at Pontefract last time was very impressive and it's very likely there's more to come from this grey. George Scott's gelding had shown promise on his previous start at Newmarket and was well backed at Pontefract next time where he duly obliged, the front two pulled a whopping 12 lengths clear of the third. It's likely this horse would be a good few points shorter in the betting if he was trained by a bigger name and with SkyBet offering 4 places I'm happy to have a small bet each-way here. Sarvan 8/1  - 0.5 Points Each-Way (SkyBet 4 Places)

13:10 Goodwood Tomorrow's Dream  had to wait for racing room when a good second at Newbury last time out and she looks like a progressive sort capable of defying this mark of 84. She was probably unlucky not to win last time out when the winner had a smooth passage through up the near side rail whereas William Haggas' filly had to switch around runners to make her challenge. This represents a drop in grade for the daughter of Oasis Dream and she looks worth chancing. Tomorrow's Dream 4/1  - 1 Point Win 13:45 Goodwood I was pretty strong on Bell Rock  for the Royal Hunt Cup and although he didn't win he ran a decent enough race to finish sixth and the first two home that day have advertised the form well since. With both Montatham and Dark Vision sharing the first two places in a competitive handicap at Sandown before the latter won a listed race more recently. Bell Rock had finished his race off strongly on the Rowley Mile the time before and ships as though these extra...

18:30 Windsor This is by no means a confident selection but at a big price Betty's Hope  could be worth chancing to small stakes. She won the Super Sprint at Newbury last year and was unlucky not to finish closer when denied a clear run in a valuable race at Newmarket on her final start last year and although she hasn't shown a huge amount so far this season, this will be the first time she has encountered her favoured ground. Connections are confident she is better with cut in the ground and at the time of writing it is good to soft with further rain forecast throughout the day. Rod Millman's filly was rated as high as 90 in her two year old campaign so she is starting to look well treated down to a mark of 82 dropped in grade today. Betty's Hope 20/1  - 0.5 Points Each-Way

14:10 York I normally try and take on those at the top of the market in these kind of handicaps but I find it pretty hard getting away from Firmament in this one. It was a rough race for him last time out, he got bumped around when still travelling well and became unbalanced so James Doyle never picked up the stick and he's been, potentially generously, dropped 2lb for that run. Prior to that he never got involved at Ascot from a poor draw but his seasonal debut is certainly worthy of noting. He finished fourth over a mile at Newcastle in a race which has worked out incredibly well. The winner Sir Busker won the Silver Hunt Cup off 4lb higher on his next start, then finished a close second at Newmarket next time off a further 6lb higher. Dark Vision, who finished second in the Newcastle race won the Royal Hunt Cup on his next start and has won a listed race since. Finally, Fifth Position (finished third) comfortably landed a decent Doncaster handicap on his next start before finis...

14:25 Ascot Chiefofchiefs looked to win with a bit in hand when landing the Silver Wokingham at Royal Ascot and looks worth keeping onside now returned to the Berkshire venue. Prior to his success at the royal meeting he had mainly been racing over a mile, the drop back to six Cleary did wonders and he is still unexposed over this seven furlong trip. You'd normally probably want to be drawn higher than stall 12, but the majority of pace is drawn low to middle so I think he should be okay on that front. William Buick is on board again and he'll enjoy the strong pace and big field again. It's pretty clear to see that  Cliffs Of Capri bloody loves the straight track at Ascot, you just have to see his form figures of 15134 to know that. He gets to race off the same mark as when fourth in the Bucking Palace at Royal Ascot, a race which has worked out well, and with many firms paying 6 places I think he's definitely worth backing each-way. Chiefofchiefs 10/1  - 1 Point Each...

15:20 Pontefract Mark Johnston won this last year with Marie's Diamond and many will fancy him to repeat the feat with Dark Vision  here. He has been in terrific form this season, narrowly denied by subsequent Silver Cup winner Sir Busker on seasonal debut, before winning the Royal Hunt Cup himself on his next start. Last time out he looked very unlucky not to follow up when rattling home to finish 2nd in a handicap at Sandown off a mark of 106 and the son of Dream Ahead comes out on top on official ratings here, but he has relied on strongly run races in larger fields to be seen to best effect so I'm willing to take him on here. Wadilsafa  looks the one to be on for me. He looked disappointing towards the end of last season but it has since emerged he had a breathing problem. Owen Burrows set about correcting the issue with a wind operation in October and it looked to have paid off on his seasonal reappearance. Although he didn't win that Newmarket handicap first time out,...

17:35 Sandown There looks to be stacks of early pace on in this 1m2f handicap and that could really play into the hands of  Voi  here. Conrad Allen's mare went into my tracker back in February when finishing second to a well treated Joseph O'Brien runner at Kempton. Voi found herself poorly positioned for how the race was run and was the only runner to make any sort of headway from off the pace on that occasion. Back at Kempton next time out she found herself victim of another steady gallop and her two races since the return of racing were definitely encouraging despite not being run to suit. Dyagilev , Engrave , Shaffire , Craneur  and Three C's  all like to lead or race prominently so William Carver should have the decent pace to aim at that this filly looks go have been craving. She now finds herself 5lb below her last winning mark and at a double figure price she looks a cracking each-way bet here, especially with many of her rivals needing to prove their effecti...