Five meetings on a midweek card and the bulk of our confidence sits with horses you would not call generous in the betting. That is fine. A short-priced day still pays if you back the right ones, and we have plenty we are happy to stand behind today.
Hamilton is the meeting that catches the eye. It is a card built around sprinters and we keep coming back to the same names. Montezuma brings genuine top-class pace to his contest and his recent runs read better than they look once you see the company he was keeping. A recent peak in his form and a draw that suits him land him right at the head of affairs. A little later, Iris Dancer has already won over course and distance and her sprint figures are sharpening even as the bare results have dipped. Forgive the recent runs. Stall five fits the trip, she looks fairly treated off 60, and the yard scores here. We are happy to take her on at the prices.
Ffos Las gives us our shortest fancy of the day. Sonic Si is the standout sprinter on his card, arriving on a win with the penalty proving no barrier at all to his progress. He drops in grade today and the way he powered home last time tells us there is more still to come. Short, yes, but he looks the part.
Ripon is where we would point anyone after a bit more each-way interest across the evening. We line up through the card there and What A Tahoo is the one we like best in his sprint. His placed runs are better than they read once you account for the trouble he met, the weight keeps falling in his favour, McHugh knows the track inside out, and stall nine is no concern. Bay Dream Believer is another we are sweet on earlier in the Ripon evening, and the meeting gives us a run of horses to follow rather than a single throw.
Yesterday gave us a proper night of it. Dream Deal landed at a double-figure price and Tamarind Bay backed him up, with three more of our five filling places. Days like that are why we keep our staking sensible and let the bigger prices do the work when they come in.
Get through the afternoon at Hamilton and the evening at Ripon shapes up nicely. We will be watching every race.