Monday gives us five meetings and a card that splits cleanly. The flat action up north at Catterick and Musselburgh is where our strongest opinions sit, while Brighton and Windsor offer the kind of evening prices that reward a small each-way stake. Ballinrobe rounds things off over in the west.
Catterick is the meeting we keep circling back to. Tees Aggregates heads the afternoon for us at five furlongs, which is plainly her best trip. She runs a pound above her last winning mark and the clock rates her well clear of those recent placed efforts. The trainer is in top form, the surface is sound, and at the prices she looks overpriced. Later on the same card, Rivera Queen is worth a closer look. She flashed home from an impossible position on her handicap debut at Brighton, the sort of run that tells you a horse is ahead of the handicapper. The headgear did its job that day and the yard is firing.
Musselburgh is busy and competitive. Only Dream Big sets the standard early as the most likely winner on the card, and we step in with two points on Mesaafi over at Windsor later, our strongest single stake of the day. The Scottish track also throws up Approaching Dawn and Motawaared at workable prices, with Realistic Dream the one to keep onside if you want a bigger number to chase.
Down at Brighton, King Of War is the name we like. He goes well here on quick ground, placed last time off the same mark and beaten just two lengths. Egan knows every yard of this track, and a first-time tongue-strap and hood could be the small change that sharpens him up. Over in Ireland, Daler is a clear pick on current form, fresh from a length-and-a-quarter win at Leopardstown and posting his fastest time yet. The 7lb rise is the obvious question, but proven course form and a kind draw answer plenty of it.
Yesterday gave us another reason to keep faith with the shorter-priced angles. Lucky Sevens obliged at 3.0 and Danehill Star ran into a place at 6.5, so the day finished firmly in credit.
If the going stays sound at Catterick and Musselburgh, the northern picks are the ones to build the card around. The southern evening meetings are there for the punter who wants a longer shot or two to keep the later races alive.