Saturday 4th March
1.15 Kelso - Bill Baxter 7/2 (365,Hills,Lads,Coral)
I like the look of BILL BAXTER in this one despite the fact that Sholokjack looks to be a pretty decent favourite , won his last race well but i think the hike in the weights could well prove his undoing (famous last words !) and im hoping the one that takes advantage of that is the selection. Since having wind surgery Bill Baxter looks to have improved in leaps and bounds imo , won on his first race back after surgery , and followed that up with another win over todays CD , was going well last time and held every chance imo when falling four from home , so i think they'll be looking to make amends for that here today. Looks to be a horse on an upward curve to me and i think that last time fall can be forgotten and forgiven and if none the worse for it i think he'll be giving a good account of himself here. Going shouldnt be a problem as hes gone well on it before (won and placed). Sean Bowen in the plate for the first time and he has a 16.3% strike rate over the past month and when riding at Kelso he has a 25% strike rate overall. Trainer Warren Greatrex is a trainer I rate and he brings just this one to the meeting today and he has a 17% strike rate over the past three weeks , and he seems to do well when running em at Kelso with a strike rate of 36.4% over the past 5 years , and this season he has a SR of 50% here. Think the horse can go well and should give the favourite something to think about.
7.30 Wolverhampton - Bascinet 5/1 (365,Hills,Lads,Coral)
Few look to hold chances in this one but you cant fault BASCINET for his consistency so i'm going to go with him to come out on top here this evening. Since October the horse hasnt been out of the first three home , thats some going when you think about it - 2,2,3,2,3,1,1,2,3 and given hes run well here before (two places from two runs) i honestly cant see any reason why he should run is race once again. Trainer Eve Johnson Houghton only brings this one to the course , and jockey Mia Nicholls also here for just this one ride , eases the burden by taking off a valuable 7lb and has ridden the horse before resulting in two wins and two places from her five rides. Think he can go close tonight.
8.30 Wolverhampton - Pessoa 7/1 (Lads,Coral) - Hooflepuff 20/1 (365)
Like the look of a couple in this one , to be honest it looks a wide open contest to me , but i think my pair can hopefully do themselves justice. First one is PESSOA who seems to have found a new lease of life since joining Adrian Wintles yard back in December of last year , in his four races to date - 1,2,3,1 and three of them races have been here at Wolverhampton. He won here last time out , comfortably beating Inexplicable by a length and a quarter and theres every chance he could follow up here. Overall at the course he's never been unplaced with two wins and a place from his three runs. To be honest given his recent form i was surprised to see the 7/1 on offer , thought he'd be shorter than that. Finley Marsh here to ride this one and he has a place and a win form his two rides on the horse , has a 25% strike rate over the past fortnight and does quite well here with a 15.4% strike rate this term. Trainer sends just this one out to the meeting and he has an 11% strike rate in the past three weeks. If running his race i think he'll be a threat to all. The other one i like the look of is HOOFLEPUFF , who at 20/1 just looked to big a price to ignore given his liking for it here at Wolverhampton .. 5 wins and 4 places from 11 runs over CD and 9 wins and 6 places from 26 runs overall at the course so theres no denying he acts round here. Hasnt been in the best of form in his last few races if im being honest but you couldnt honestly discount his chances round here , has won off higher than todays mark and the fact that Kevin Stott takes the ride for the first time caught my eye. Trainer has just this one out and i think he could go well at a decent price.
3.25 Newbury - Black Poppy 5/1 (Hills,Lads,Coral)
Last years winner BLACK POPPY appeals to me in this , a very consistent sort he ran a stinker last time out when a very poor 7th when reverting to hurdles after he'd made a decent start to his chasing career on his penultimate run when second. That last time out seventh was a bit of an anomaly tbh as he very rarely runs a bad race , since he started his record reads - 1,F,3,4,2,1,1,2,2,7 so i can only assume he had an off day , hopefully he'll be back on track here and do himself justice in the defence of his crown. Jockey Brendan Powell gets on well with the horse (was the jockey when he won this last year) , has had six rides on the horse winning three of them and placing in a further two , comes here for this one ride, Trainer Kerry Lee also here for just this one and has a 33% strike rate over the past three weeks. Think he'll give a good account of himself today.