Sam King landed two winners yesterday from four selections including a 12/1 (advised) shot (Elios D’Or) at Kempton last night. He’s back with some brand-new selections on what promises to be an exciting day’s racing…
The flat season is well and truly underway. Epsom stages its first meeting of the season today and the William Haggas-trained Educator has caught my eye in the Betfred City And Suburban Handicap (3.00). It's fair to say he was quite disappointing when well-beaten in the 1m4f Old Rowley Cup (Heritage Handicap) at Newmarket last October but there are plenty of reasons to believe he's better than that. The form of his reappearance success at the same venue this time last year is solid enough (Israr who finished third is now rated 106) and he probably bumped into a smart type when second at Salisbury. It's worth noting that he's been gelded, and William Haggas has a 26% strike-rate with first-time geldings (last five years). The drop back to 1m2f should be right up his street and this four-year-old son of Deep Impact is selected to return with a bang.
Selection: Educator – General 11/4
Our second selection comes from the seaside venue of Yarmouth. The QuinnBet Acca Bonus Handicap staged at 3.00 is down to just five runners and James Ferguson's progressive Beelzebub can come out on top. Plenty went wrong for him at Newcastle as the gelded son of Dark Angel raced keenly and wide throughout. It was probably a testament to his raw ability that the three-year-old was able to make a winning handicap debut and a 4lb rise may not be enough to anchor him with the stable operating at an impressive 33% (3-9) strike-rate for the last fortnight.
Selection: Beelzebub – General 6/4
Although the turf season is certainly at the front of most people's minds Wolverhampton still plays host to a seven-race card this evening. It's fair to say the David O'Meara yard could probably be in better form at present but he looks to have found a nice opportunity for Aihawawi to get off the mark in the At The Races App Form Study Handicap (6.25). He showed improved form at Newcastle when runner-up on reappearance and looks decent value to go one better racing off an unchanged mark.
Selection: Aihawawi – General 9/4
We head back to Epsom for our fourth and final selection of the day as heads turn to the sprint division. Ollie Sangster has made a bright start to his training career and his Dig Two is taken to land the opening race (Indigenous Handicap) at 1.50. The four-year-old made a highly pleasing stable debut when third over 6f at Kempton following a lengthy break and shaped as though he'd strip fitter for the outing. He drops to 5f for the first time since finishing runner-up in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot as a juvenile and can get back to winning ways with two-time champion jockey, Oisin Murphy, retaining the ride.
Selection: Dig Two – General 3/1
