Chelmsford top racing tip: Bergamasco fancied to defy outsider odds
Chelmsford racecourse
With much of Saturday’s racing falling victim to the weather, ITV gives all-weather racing its hour in the television sun, including this competitive mile race at Chelmsford.
15:30 Chelmsford: Woodford Reserve Cardinal Conditions Stakes (1 mile)
If the early market is a reliable yardstick, then odds-on favourite Capulet will take all the beating here, and there’s certainly plenty to like about Aidan O’Brien’s young colt.
A debut win on Dundalk’s synthetic surface last August was supplemented by encouraging frame finishes on the turf at Leopardstown and Newmarket in September, and he is expected to confirm that promise as he returns from a six-month break under the significant presence of Ryan Moore.
Planet Sport Bet Daily Special: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Capulet wins by more than 3.5 lengths, get a £5 Free Bet
The favourite’s main threat is likely to come from Karl Burke’s Cuban Tiger, who has produced tidy figures of 121 on his three career appearances so far this year, including an impressive win in the Listed Burradon Stakes over this distance at Newcastle just eight days ago.
The broad range of prices available for the remaining six runners suggests the remaining minor place is very much up for grabs, or maybe even better if either or both of the two market leaders falter.
While cases can be made for Bracken’s Laugh (debut winner and returning from a six-month lay-off) and Orne (1233 since November and third behind Capulet last week), our each-way pendulum has swung weightily towards the seemingly underrated and overpriced Bergamasco.
Suggested best bet: Bergamasco each-way in the 15:30 at Chelmsford
As the most exposed runner in the field and also the only gelding, he has looked at ease on the track during a busy winter campaign that has seen him finish outside the frame just once in seven appearances, all of which were at Dundalk.
Three of those outings ended with a trip to the winner’s enclosure, including back-to-back successes on his only two runs so far in 2024, the last of which was five weeks ago.
Jack Davison brings Bergamasco over to English soil for the first time, and could hardly have entrusted his three-year-old into more capable hands than those of in-form all-weather specialist Rossa Ryan, who has guided half of his 320+ rides into the frame this season, including 55 winners for an impressive 17% strike rate.
- Tip advised by Big priced Winners on Tipstrr
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