Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy

Having had an early look at the Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy at the start of the week, it was pleasing to see Mamba Wamba declared first and foremost. Additionally, she has been given potentially a decent draw in stall 7 of 23 near the far side rail, which can sometimes be the place to be. Quite a few of the fancied horses are berthed near her too, so it seems likely that there will be a decent group racing near that far rail. Adrian Nicholls has also seen fit to add the first-time visor tomorrow – given the improvement Mamba Wamba showed in first-time cheekpieces, the hope that she is ready for a season-defining run is significant.

Now the draw is out, I feel it is prudent to add another strong each-way bet – given Skybet & William Hill are offering 6 places and Betfred & Paddy Power 5 places and quite a few other 4, it appeals as a race to have a good go at. Certainly, if you’re not already on Mamba Wamba, I wouldn’t put you off backing her at 10/1 or 11/1 with either Skybet or William Hill, or a more general 12/1 elsewhere.

However, at the previous Redcar meeting last week, on the straight track there was a notable bias to those that raced towards the stands side rail – Ben Curtis was the first to take advantage of it, and given he is on Bowman in stall 23, hard under this rail, it seems inevitable that there will also be a good chance that the winner could come from those drawn high.

Blind Beggar at 16/1 with Skybet, and the 6 place each-way terms, is very hard to resist in my estimation. Stall 19 is ideal to track the pace on this near side, and having joined Richard Fahey recently it was interesting to see him stronger at the line over 5f at Haydock eight days ago, than he had been at any time previously. Fahey has an exceptional record in this type of race, and while he has four chances, it might be that Blind Beggar is the best of them, with the vastly underrated Paddy Mathers on board.

Blind Beggar will appreciate every drop of rain that falls (and there will be many!) and he already has some very strong performances in relation to this race, with the potential to improve for his first try at 6f.

As the meeting develops tomorrow, it might become evident that you can rule out half the field if a track bias reveals itself, but at this stage I’m very happy to back one on each sid. As in Mamba Wamba and Blind Beggar, we have two horses ideally suited to the race, conditions, and are both double figure prices.