Thursday gives us plenty to chew on. Five meetings, sixteen names, and a card that starts early at Newmarket and Nottingham before the evening action takes over at Hamilton and Leicester. It is a day with a solid spine of short prices and a handful of bigger ones worth a second look.
The early part of the afternoon belongs to Newmarket. Angel Gabriel, Mudbir and Darzah are the three we are happy to side with there, all carrying a bit of weight in the staking because we like the shape of their chances. Over at Nottingham we have a soft spot for Get Up Everybody. He has shown his best at this track before, and his recent runs read a fair bit better than the bare finishing positions suggest. Midgley does well around here and the raw pace is there, so he looks fair to outrun his mark.
The evening is where the volume sits. Leicester gives us four, and the one we keep coming back to is Pureis King. He is a thoroughly progressive sort who bolted up by four lengths at Ffos Las only two days ago, and now he carries his penalty with real momentum. He goes well on good ground and a low draw is the icing. Moonhall Lass is the other Leicester pick we rate highly. She hit the line hard when third off this same mark last time, she has already won twice in this spell, Loughnane takes the ride, and a first-time visor could sharpen her up a notch.
Hamilton hands us five of its own, headed by Annandale and Ruby Wedding at the shorter end, with Iris Dancer and a couple of others rounding out the night. If you want a bigger price, look north to Newcastle. Koffee And Kale was asking too much over six furlongs at Leicester last time and now drops back to the bare five that brings out his best. A visor sharpens him, Marquand takes over, and this sprint looks his to lose at double-figure odds.
Yesterday was a quiet three-pick day that paid off where it mattered. Priapos came in at 13.0 to land the headline, and Nanoscience filled a place at 3.25, so the card did its job.
Plenty of ammunition today then, with the strength in the short-priced spine and the interest in those few longer ones at Newcastle and Hamilton. We will see how the evening unfolds.