Ludlow best bet (1520): Course specialist Regal Renaissance to bounce back over preferred trip
A view of Ludlow racecourse
The favourite will take some beating in this handicap hurdle, but she might get more than she bargained for from a mare who certainly knows her way around the Shropshire track.
15:20 Ludlow: Watch on Racing TV Mares’ Handicap Hurdle (2 miles 5¼ furlongs)
Six wins and three runner-up spots in her first nine outings makes Bonttay the justified short-priced favourite to land this, and if her rivals are to finish ahead of Fergal O’Brien’s seven-year-old, they might need her to unseat her rider like she did when poised to strike again at Cheltenham last time out in December.
Should that bolt of lightning not strike twice, then her tightening low odds at least enhance the each-way value of the other seven runners contesting the minor places.
Some of Tipstrr’s each-way brigade have gravitated towards bottom-weight Inion Tiogair, and while Grace Harris’ seven-year-old is more promising than her recent performances indicate, a more realistic prospect is course specialist Regal Renaissance.
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Eight of Henry Daly’s six-year-old’s 11 career outings have been around the Ludlow circuit, and four of the last six have brought a top-two finish, including two wins over this very trip.
Both of those successes were last season, but she began her current campaign with a decent second place over this course and distance, and was a creditable fourth of 12 over the same trip a month later.
She was last seen here tackling a longer three-mile handicap in heavy ground, conditions which worked against her as she was beaten into second place by a horse carrying almost two stones less in weight.
In this higher-graded Class 3 affair, it is Regal Renaissance who benefits from the handicapper’s calculations, and with Alice Stevens’ useful five-pound claim, she will be carrying 25lbs less than the favourite.
Whether that will be enough to close the gulf in class remains to be seen, but around her preferred track she is certainly as likely as any to give us a decent run for our each-way money.
Suggested best bet: Regal Renaissance each-way in the 15:20 at Ludlow
- Tip advised by TC’s Punts on Tipstrr
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