Carlisle best bet: Skycutter to build on early promise for Dan Skelton
Carlisle racecourse
On a relatively quiet Monday of National Hunt racing, Tipstrr pundit Steve Jones has seen something he likes in this handicap hurdle at Carlisle.
15:32 Carlisle: Bet In Play at Rhino.bet Handicap Hurdle (2 miles 1 furlong)
Joining the yard of Dan Skelton from Philip Kirby in late November last year, Skycutter had been absent from the track for 406 days prior to making his stable debut at Bangor in early December, less than two weeks after arriving.
Pitched into a two-runner handicap over 19.5f (on soft), the useful and race-fit Ballygeary was understandably installed as a hot odds-on favourite, but things didn’t pan out quite as planned, with Skycutter’s challenge thwarted only lack of a recent run as he finished less than two lengths behind his well-backed rival.
Suggested best bet: Skycutter in the 15:32 at Carlisle
On his only subsequent run, at Wincanton a couple of weeks later, Skycutter contested a very useful 0-120 handicap, a race in which the field was made up entirely of younger 4-5-year-olds.
It was run over 15 furlongs on a tight, right-handed track with soft ground, a combination of conditions which ultimately beat Skycutter for speed as he was eventually beaten for finishing speed.
The winner was the prolific Lowry’s Bar, who has won again since to complete a four-timer and he is now rated 133. It is very unlikely that Skycutter will face anything as useful as Lowry’s Bar today and, perhaps just as significantly, today’s much more testing track will go in his favour, especially combined with an extra quarter-mile, which will bring his stamina into play.
Off 3lbs lower than when clashing with Ballygeary, Skycutter looks poised to strike on his third run for the yard.
Next Best bet: El Jefe in the 15:32 at Carlisle
Of the others, it’s no surprise to see the prolific El Jefe at the head of the early market on the back of his three successive wins at Sedgefield and Haydock during November and December last year, all won easily despite going up 12lbs in the process.
He is up another 8lbs today but because his latest win came in a handicap for conditional riders, Conor Rabbitt was unable to use his claim. He can use it today, which means the seven-year-old is effectively only 3lbs higher after winning a 0-122 contest very easily by three lengths.
On that evidence, El Jefe must be a major player in today’s 0-121, to be run under a similar set of conditions to his two earlier wins.
- Tips and analysis provided by Steve Jones who runs CD Systems Daily Bargain on Tipstrr
READ MORE: Carlisle racing tips: Best bets for Monday February 5
