Horse Racing Tips on Wednesday, March 2
There are four meetings in the UK on Wednesday, with two each over jumps and the all-weather. It is the two jumps meetings, from Musselburgh and Wincanton that feature in our editor’s 17,447/1 Lucky 15 top tips.
Mah Mate Bob (2.20 Musselburgh)
Clear The Runway won well over course and distance last time out and could easily back that up ten days later at this level.
However, this is a 0-100 and because he rose to a rating of 105, he has to shoulder 12st 5lb, which is a massive burden for any horse and not a gentle racing weight. Further down the weights, MAH MATE BOB might be thrown in off his current mark.
It has been a tough season for George Bewley’s ten-year-old and there is a chance that his ability is simply on the wane. However, all of his runs have been on good-to-soft ground or worse, with only one of his four efforts on quicker than soft.
The ground is drying at Musselburgh and if it continues to quicken before the off tomorrow it will significantly boost this horse’s chances from a mark of just 91. As recently as last May, he was winning off 10lb higher.
West End Lady (2.55 Musselburgh)
A fresher WEST END LADY should be a danger to all in this mares’ handicap hurdle.
Her three runs after a break longer than the one she has currently enjoyed have resulted in three of her best four performances on RPRs. One of those came at the start of this season when winning well at Hexham in October over this trip.
She steadily waned on her next three starts, although not to great degrees and is now only 3lb higher than her winning mark from the autumn. She had also had just 30 and 13 days between races the last twice which may well have been a negative.
She may be top weight in this field, but she looks capable of getting back on the winning trail.
Pearl Warrior (4.05 Musselburgh)
There are number of angles you can take which see PEARL WARRIOR seem very appealing on only his fifth hurdles start.
The first is that Iain Jardine has regularly travelled south of the Scottish border with this horse and he gets his first taste of a home match here at Musselburgh. Similarly, on his flat run here last August (second off mark of 80), he is potentially extremely well in given the average conversion between flat and jumps marks of around 45-50lb.
As such, a mark of 108 will surely be distinctly beatable for him in time. He was up against a particularly smart horse for the level at Catterick last time, but had previously gone very close under Alan Doyle two starts ago when that rider claimed 5lb. He claims 7lb off the same mark today.
Glorious Isolation (4.15 Wincanton)
Anthony Honeyball’s charge showed absolutely no form in maiden and novice hurdles prior to the turn of the year, but her handicap debut saw her go much closer at Plumpton.
GLORIOUS ISOLATION is yet to achieve that state on a racecourse, but she was beaten fewer than six lengths by the favourite for this contest Eventful and the runner-up Rubys Reward, who also runs here.
Yet despite being better off with both of those, she is comfortably the biggest pierce of the trio. The swing in the weights she gets from Eventful in particular should see her right in the mix again, especially as Ben Godfrey rode her very wide round the home turn at Plumpton. A more routine passage should see her right in the mix for victory.