Roscommon – Monday 16th August

Yesterday was a disappointing day at the office as I feel we had one slip away right in front of us with Tune The Chello at Tramore. Having travelled like the winner all the way, a last fence mistake cost valuable momentum and she failed to get there by a neck. These are moments that will always sicken you, but with the York meeting providing a valuable opportunity to get back in the game this week, I’m very excited with what is in store. I know myself and fellow WhichBookie colleague, Will Smith, will be scouring the York markets for some decent value and hopefully some winners. However, I will be looking to fill the coffers before then, and that chance comes at Roscommon this evening. 

Starting off with the 5.15 race, which is an incentive race for 2YO horses and attracts a field of 8 for a contest over the extended 7 furlongs here in Roscommon. This looks like a lively contest and one which should spring a few decent horses for the future. We have two Galway maiden winners battling out affairs at the top of the market, and at the prices, I will be siding with Nectaris, for the in-form team of Shane Foley and Jessie Harrington. This filly did it nicely at Galway on her third start, winning tidily from the front due to a canny ride. That win had been knocking on the door for a while and it was nice to see her get her head in front when it counted. 

She has to give weight away to her main rival in this contest, Malayan, who is trained by Dermot Weld – but the form of their respective maidens is similar enough and both are open to a lot of improvement. I fancy that Nectaris might just have a little bit more improvement to give, and given the fact that she has good form throughout her three runs this year, she should run a race of real credit. Her debut effort behind Seisai has been well boosted since. Nectaris is currently best priced 11/4 with Paddy Power, which seems more than reasonable, and I’ll be hoping she can go very close.  

The next race I will be tackling at Roscommon is the 6.45, which is a very competitive 45-70 rated handicap over the same distance of 7 and a half furlongs. Draws can be important at Roscommon and therefore in this big field, I am quite keen to be siding with a draw in the single numbers, and have landed on Talking Tough, who is coming out of stall 6 with a big chance. Having been running poorly as of late, this two time winner ran a race of great credit at Leopardstown last time out, and continues to fall down the handicap. He appears today off a mark of 64, with young Wesley Joyce taking 7 pounds off his back. This is a mark that he has been able to score off in the past, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him back on track today in ideal conditions. At a price of 10/1 with SkyBet, who crucially offer 4 places, I’ll be backing this gelding each way. 

I am always quite keen to have a selection in the lucky last and today is no different, as my final selection comes from the 45-70 rated 1m4f handicap at 7.45. Preference in this race goes to Magnetic North, who is a juicy each way price in a competitive field of horses with 16 going to post. Magnetic North does not often run over this trip, but it feels like as he is getting older, this trip looks more and more in range. His effort over this exact trip at Galway was excellent, when finishing a close up third off this mark. He followed that up with a solid performance at Leopardstown back down in trip – so arrives here in decent form and running in a grade lower than usual. He is usually competitive off a mark of 70, and Cian McRedmond takes 7 pounds off his back. At a price of 16/1 with Paddy Power, who are paying out an eye-watering six places in this field, he must be backed each way.