The final day of March is upon us, and despite blustery conditions up and down the country we’re still able to choose from three meetings for this afternoon’s placepot picks.
Exeter and Huntingdon host cards over the obstacles whilst all-weather action returns at Southwell. After plenty of deliberation, Exeter’s competitive card shades the verdict and it is there we head for today’s placepot picks!
Leg One: Murty’s Delight
The opener sees a rather inconsistent bunch take to post, with a few monor exceptions. One of these is Murtys Delight, who has been held his form very well since an impressive victory at Fakenham on New Year’s Day. He was placed in his subsequent two starts and he was punted as though another big run was expected when disappointing as favourite on his final visit to the track.
He stuck on gamely that day, and performed better than the bare result as his rider possibly asked a bit too much of him after holding him up towards the rear. He has solid form and is the only horse to win over this afternoon’s distance, so he should be able to give a good account of himself off top weight.
Leg Two: Sinndar’s Man
David Pipe celebrated an across the card double yesterday and this will give him great confidence as he saddles up his hopes for this afternoon. His charge, Sinddar’s Man, looks to have a great chance in leg two and it is for four-year-old son of Sinndar that we opt for this afternoon. After finishing runner-up on his debut over hurdles, he went on to notch two impressive successes in quick succession.
After a short break, he ran disappointingly when well-punted at Lingfield, before being thrown in at the deep=-end in a competitive Grade One at Chepstow before the turn of the year. The bottomless ground was his undoing (as it had appeared to be on previous run) and he trailed in eight behind the impressive Bristol De Mai. He will have learned a lot from this and now back on a better surface, he looks primed to take advantage and it would appear another bold run is expected.
Leg Three: Fourth Act
After a decent enough hurdling career, where Fourth Act performed well without really setting the world alight, he will have plenty of confidence as he goes to tackle chasing for the first time. His breeding suggests he will more comfortable over fences and after three solid enough efforts over the smaller obstacles, it is interesting to see him given a chasing assignment at this stage of the season.
There is no doubt he will have been thoroughly schooled by Colin Tizzard and the fact that Daryl Jacob gets the ride is another added bonus. He appeared to have his problems judging by the usual length between his races but after three runs already this year, he should be primed for a big effort this afternoon.
Leg Four: Roll The Dice
With the exception of a poor run at Ludlow on his penultimate start, Roll The Dice has been extremely consistent and has finished in the first three in six of his last seven starts. Of course, this afternoon he has to go one better and hit the first two, but he looks to have a great chance of doing so, now dropped back down to three miles.
He looked stretched last time out at Stratford but that run will have done him some good as he tackles the shorter distance this afternoon. He looks set for a bold bid and the addition of first-time blinkers could make all the difference.
Leg Five: For ‘N’ Against
We take a punt with David Pipe again in leg five, as he saddles For ‘N’ Against, who was a big eye-catcher when second on his chasing debut last time out. He travelled well and put in a solid round of jumping before staying on well up the run in, behind Gamain.
He tackles an extended trip this afternoon which should suit his strong-travelling nature and with a decent pace to aim at, he can exploit what could well be a generous mark. There has been plenty of early money for the six-year-old and he looks set for a bold bid under Tom Scudamore.
Leg Six: Billy My Boy
Celestino is sure to be in warm order as Paul Nicholls sends his unexposed sort to Exeter, yet it is hard to ignore the effort from Billy My Boy after a year off the track last time out. After taking a keen hold early on, he moved nicely through the field to take the lead before edging right when headed between the last two fences.
He carried on gamely when beaten and pulled clear of the third horse, which suggests he shown a fair level of ability to end up where he did. He is entitled to strip fitter for the run, and it would be no surprise to see him go very close with the benefit of experience under his belt this afternoon.