The Student Punter

  15:00 Epsom Epsom looks to have got a right downpour late in the day on Monday and with the likely change in going I want to chance one in the 1m2f handicap. The rain will bring doubts into play about many of these ability to handle the ground, including current favourite Educator,  but one who should relish conditions is LORD PROTECTOR  for the in-form Beckett stable who have had 3 winners from their last 4 runners. He won on soft ground in a Salisbury handicap as a 3yo off 88 in a race which worked out well at the time with the 2nd winning his next two starts and shooting up 17lb in the handicap as a result. Lord Protector is only 9lb higher, and although that was nearly two years ago, he has only run 7 times since. More recently, he won a Sandown handicap off 92 last season before running a hugely eyecatching race in a typical Goodwood handicap hard luck story off his current mark. His final start last season went into the too bad to be true category and it's interes...

  15:00 Pontefract A decent race for a Monday afternoon here at Pontefract and a nice betting opportunity with bookies offering 4 places across the board. I have some minor doubts about the trip for LIGHTENING COMPANY  but I'm going to chance him to small stakes each-way. He progressed well last season with a good win off 81 at Redcar in a race which worked out well subsequently, third placed horse won twice subsequently and the 4th (Boardman) won three times since. But it was his following performance at York off 85 which was just as eyecatching. He only finished 5th that day but met plenty of trouble in running and did the best of those held up in a typical York race where those up with the pace fared best. He failed to win subsequently but they were small field tactical affairs where he missed the break (slight worry), but he now finds himself on a mark of 82 just 1lb higher than his Redcar success. He needs to defy a 152 day absence, but the yard is going well (22% strike ...

  15:45 Stratford This looks a relatively weak mare's handicap hurdle and initially I was drawn to Luna Dora  after her comfortable success at Fakenham last time out. She made a shuddering error mid race but still travelled strongly for the remainder of the race ultimately pulling over seven lengths clear of the second. However, she is 2lb out of the handicap and although that wouldn't neccesarily put me off, it does when she's as short as 9/4 at the head of the market. In the search of alternatives FANCY STUFF  stuck out like a sore thumb to me. Dan Skelton's mare looked a fairly blatant non-stayer at Warwick last time out after making some eye-catching headway 3 hurdles out. Her form from earlier in the season looks decent now, a creditable third behind Deere Mark who won a class 3 on his next start and is now rated 123. The 2nd and 4th have also ran well since and are rated 119. She was receiving a mares allowance that day but even. accounting for that, this mark of ...

  15:15 Newbury For the purposes of the @handinapcomp on twitter, I'll be keeping Lattam  onside here after his Irish Lincoln win last time out. That was extremely impressive, he was boxed in for what seemed like an eternity but when the door opened the way he rattled home blew me away. I don't think he's a particularly value price at present though and think it could be worth playing a couple each-way to fill the other places. The first of which is  REVICH  who I do have some doubts about the ground for, but that also applies to most of the field here and he does have a win on good to soft to his name - so we'll take a swing. He often runs well in big field handicaps, seen last year when an excellent third in the golden mile at Goowood at 66/1 when drawn on the wrong side of the track. That came off a mark of 96 and he ran well later in the season at Ayr when beaten under a length behind course specialist Gweedore off 95. On the face of it his 9th in the Lincoln on ...

  14:20 Aintree It's been a long time since we saw MARTELLO SKY  in handicap company, since December 2021 to be exact - when she won by a neck off a mark of 140. She probably won that more comfortably than that winning margin suggests, she travelled very strongly into the race and hit the front too soon - after idling in front as soon as rival joined her she pulled away again in the closing stages. Since that day she has been campaigned only in listed and graded contests and this drop back into handicap company could prove a smart move. She ran well to finish 2nd in a listed contest on seasonal debut at Wetherby and most recently she was seen behind Epatante at Doncaster over an inadequate two mile trip, but she stuck to her task well that day and now finds herself down to a mark of 137. The booking of Rachael Blackmore catches the eye and at 25/1 she looks worth a small each-way play. MARTELLO SKY 25/1  - 0.5 Points Each-Way (firms paying 6 places) 16:05 Aintree The pric...

  16:15 Plumpton Switching back to the jumps scene for Sunday's bet over at Plumpton in the Sussex Champion Hurdle. There is stacks of pace in this race with Aucunrisque , Effernock Fizz  &  Bourbali  all frequent frontrunners, so this looks like it could be set up for a closer. I'm turning to LUTTRELL LAD  again after his excellent run in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham last time out. I'm surprised to see him showing up here as I thought they'd go straight to Ayr for the Scottish Champion hurdle, but they look to have found a winnable race.  I'm not going to fully repeat the case I made for him at Cheltenham which can be seen here , but he has a decent record over hurdles and his run at Cheltenham confirmed he can be winning off this sort of mark (especially with the handicapper dropping him 1lb). He was caught far too far back at Cheltenham but finished off strongly in the home straight, the return to better ground could suit better and I make the 9/1...

  15:50 Lingfield MILLION THANKS was an obvious eyecatcher last week and I’m surprised to see him available as big as 8/1 at the time of writing, with 4 places widely available. A large part of that is probably due to his wide draw in stall 11, but I think the market has overplayed that and I don’t think it will significantly disadvantage him here. In fact, runners with his patient run style at Lingfield often benefit from challenging wide in the home straight. Another huge positive is the booking of Benoit De La Sayette, who claims 3lb off a horse who is already 2lb well in. The yard have had 2 winners from 7 runners since this horse ran last week and, although he is now 0-8, I fancy him each-way here. MILLION THANKS 8/1 - 1 Point Each-Way

  15:55 Doncaster A tentative vote goes to BARYSHNIKOV  in this 1m2f handicap. His last two runs of the season were a bit disappointing but they came on quicker ground than ideal, he’s better judged on his Chester win earlier in the season when overcoming trouble to score cosily off a mark of 91. It’s also worth noting that he was impressive on seasonal debut on soft ground last year when winning at Pontefract, so the 250 day break and return to these conditions could bring the best out in him. Bad Company and Jean Baptiste should give him a good pace to aim at and Baryshnikov has a chance off 92 here. BARYSHNIKOV 8/1 - 1 Point Win