Warwick best each-way bet (1349): Gentleman At Arms can defy odds in conditions set to suit

13:49 Warwick: Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle (3 miles 1 furlong)  

However, if her price is accurate then Gentleman At Arms must represent significant value here because he was just three quarters of a length behind Martha Brae in that race and he is now five pounds better off with Dan Skelton’s mare.

Stuart Edmunds’ seven-year-old is a strong stayer who would have preferred a slower surface than he got that day, as was the case for his last win, which came on soft ground at Aintree in November, when he beat 10 rivals to take a strong Class 2 0-142 handicap over an extended three miles.

Planet Sport Bet: Bet £20+ cash on any runner in the race and if Shallow River finishes in the first 3 places, get a £5 Free Bet

He had a couple of lengths in hand under today’s rider, Ciaran Gethings, who has partnered him to all three of his hurdling wins, as well as an equally impressive second of 14 as a five-year-old in the Grade 1 Mersey Novices’ Hurdle over 24.5f at Aintree on good-soft ground .

Three of his last four wins, including that latest Aintree win, came with cut in the ground after he had been off the track for more than a month, so he does enjoy decent gaps between his races and appears to have been aimed at this race after a 49-day rest.

The last three renewals of this race (and six of the last ten) have been won by seven-year-olds such as Gentleman At Arms, whose double-digit price suggests he may have been underestimated and overlooked.

Suggested bet: Gentleman At Arms each-way in the 13:49 at Warwick

• Tip advised by Steve Jones who runs CD Systems Daily Bargain on Tipstrr

Of the others, Shallow River hasn’t been the easiest to win with, but he is an extremely consistent hurdler who has finished runner-up on six of his last eight outings, including in Class 2 company on the sharp track at Wincanton (25.5 furlongs on good-soft) on Boxing Day.

Off an unchanged mark, a similar effort can be expected, and connections will have been very pleased with that run because it was their eight-year-old’s first try over more than three miles.

Unexposed over the new trip, there is every chance that he has scope to improve further, especially as he is another who likes sharp tracks with cut in the ground.

Next Best bet: Shallow River each-way in the 13:49 at Warwick

 

READ MORE: Saturday ITV racing tips: Best bets for Kempton, Warwick and Wetherby on January 13