Horse Racing Tips on Sunday, April 10
There are two meetings spread across Britain on Sunday, April 10th with the action coming from Wincanton and Stratford. Our expert tipster has produced their best bets across the cards, which make up our advised Sunday Lucky 15.
Crystal Gazing (3.30 Stratford)
Nicky Henderson rarely makes the journey across to Stratford with his runners, but they are worth following when he does, with the Lambourn handler operating at a 33% strike rate at the track in recent seasons. That alone makes CRYSTAL GAZING look particularly interesting in Sunday’s Happy 90th Birthday John Barnett Mares’ Handicap Hurdle.
This daughter of Sulamani was twice a hurdles winner last season, showing strong staying attributes when scoring at Warwick in September.
Crystal Gazing was returning from an absence of over five months when down the field at Ludlow eighteen days ago, and having travelled quite powerfully into that race, it’s expected that the run has brought Crystal Gazing on plenty.
Last season, that was certainly the case when Crystal Gazing built on a 25l reappearance defeat to score at Bangor sixteen days later. She finds herself on a mark of 108 here, which is the same as when going in at Warwick, and although her optimum trip may be slightly further than an extended 2m, connections appear to have found her a good opportunity here with the majority of these opponents arriving with significant questions to answer.
Sunday Lucky 15 Tips. Nicky Henderson sends Crystal Gazing over to Stratford on Sunday.
Goodnight Charlie (4.05 Stratford)
Artemision looks set to go off favourite for this Racecourse Streams On Racing TV Extra Handicap Chase but he’s 0-10 and hasn’t always looked the most straightforward, so looks worth taking on with the admirable mare GOODNIGHT CHARLIE.
This now 12yo has proven a fantastic horse for connections down the years, gaining seven wins from 44 starts.
She gained the most recent of those successes at Fakenham on New Year’s Day, when scoring under today’s rider Alex Chadwick. Goodnight Charlie failed to complete the next twice, but she bounced back to form when the runner-up returned to Fakenham last time and this represents a slight drop-in class to 0-100 company.
It’s a little over 12 months since Goodnight Charlie was sent off the 7/2F to beat recent Scottish National winner Win My Wings in a mares handicap chase at Cheltenham, and considering that she has won off as high as 117 at her peak this 98 rating is unlikely to prove troublesome.
Brilliant Present (4.40 Stratford)
Nicky Henderson’s excellent strike rate here has already been mentioned, but that aside, his BRILLIANT PRESENT looks like a huge player in the Bet At racingtv.com Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
This mare by Presenting was a Lingfield bumper winner earlier in her career, and whilst failing to get off the mark in four subsequent hurdles outings she showed definite ability when fourth at Taunton on the penultimate run, with the three directly in front of her that day now rated 129, 120 and 132 respectively.
Brilliant Present struggled at Hereford last time out, but subsequent wind surgery suggests that there may have been an underlying problem that day, and getting back on some genuinely good ground will suit.
A mark of 102 certainly doesn’t look beyond Brilliant Present, particularly on that Taunton run, and she can therefore be backed to continue the fine recent form of her owners, who recently claimed Grade 1 honours at Aintree courtesy of Gelino Bello.
Sunday Lucky 15 Tips. Nico de Boinville and Nicky Henderson team up at Stratford with Brilliant Present.
Tel’Art (5.10 Stratford)
The Stratford “Grassroots” Open Hunters’ Chase could arguably be seen as an opportunity for horses at the end of their career to get back in the winner’s enclosure but in TEL’ART, there’s a horse that still looks well capable of mixing it at a higher level than this.
The 8yo appeared to improve for the addition of cheekpieces when third at Exeter last month, and that was just his second outing over these fences.
On that Exeter running, Tel’Art is expected to benefit from this slight drop in trip, and it looks particularly notable that his last two wins have come here at Stratford, so the return to the track looks a huge plus. Toby Wynne claims a valuable 5lb here, so Tel’Art gets into this off a handy weight, and backing the jockey’s rides blind in recent seasons would have brought about a profit of +13.66 to level stakes.