Hereford racing tip: Step up in trip can help Blue Shark rekindle former glories
Hereford
Our friends at Planet Sport Bet have picked a cracking card to sponsor at Hereford on Saturday, and this stayers’ handicap hurdle is just one of the many competitive races to savour.
14:48 Hereford: Get Emma’s Xmas Crackers at PlanetSportBet Handicap Hurdle (3 miles 1½ furlongs)
If we can believe everything the bookies tell us, then we look set for a two-horse race between early market leaders Norton Hill and Bertie Wooster.
The latter is yet to open his account, but four near misses since handicapping (2332) suggest his maiden success will come sooner rather than later.
It might have to wait a while longer yet, however, as Norton Hill returned from a seven-month break to notch a first hurdle success over this course and distance 25 days ago, and with enough in hand to suggest he can overcome his subsequent four-pound rise.
Planet Sport Bet: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Norton Hill wins by more than 4 lengths, get a £5 Free Bet
The top-heavy market leaves scope for each-way options elsewhere, with Ithaka and I’m A Starman both more than capable of having a say, but the word in the Tipstrr camp is that Jono O’Neill’s Blue Shark might be worth a cautious punt at a tidy double-digit price.
The six-year-old gelding struggled to make an impact on his last three starts in 0-120 company, so this slight drop in grade and step up in trip could provide the impetus to rekindle the form he showed last season.
It was around this time last year that Blue Shark began a sequence of six wins in seven outings, all at different courses and in varied conditions, suggesting his versatility should stand him in good stead on this first trip to Hereford.
Most of those successes came with Jonjo O’Neill jnr in the saddle, and while he remains absent here, the 10-pound allowance of claiming jockey Benjamin Macey gives Blue Shark the lightest burden of the nine runners, and also brings his weight down below his last two winning marks.
The O’Neill yard is overdue a win after enjoying a purple patch at the beginning of the month, but they boast an impressive 25% win rate from their previous trips to Hereford (15 winners from 60 runners, plus a dozen places), and hopes are high that this might just be Blue Shark’s time to bounce back to winning ways.
- Suggested bet: Blue Shark in the 14:48 at Hereford
- Tip advised by Sotnas Horse Racing on Tipstrr
READ MORE: Saturday ITV racing tips: Best bets for Cheltenham and Doncaster on December 16
