Ben Linfoot waits until the last race for the day’s best bet, with an in-form sprinter taken to burn off his rivals at Kempton.
Recommended bet: Tip of the Day
1pt win Escalating 8.25 Kempton at 11/4 (General) – in good nick following a break, the removal of cheekpieces and being gelded. Has solid claims on last run and question marks over opposition.
It might be worth waiting until the last race on Wednesday for a bet as Mick Appleby’s ESCALATING has solid claims in the 32Red.com Handicap at Kempton (8.25).
The five-year-old lost his way towards the end of last year but dropped 8lb in the process and a gelding operation, a three-month break and the ditching of cheekpieces have seen him return to top form.
He won first-time back following his mini break when going in over five furlongs at Southwell on February 21 and he was a good second at the same track three weeks later over a furlong further.
Given the trouble he found early on and the subsequent wide passage he had to take he did incredibly well to get within two-and-a-quarter lengths of the winner Crosse Fire, a horse that he’d beaten the time before.
That last run shows he remains in good heart and off the same mark of 83 he’s expected to go well back on the Polytrack on Wednesday evening.
He has won at Kempton having raced at the course just twice, while he still has a few pounds up his sleeve on his old form.
With Silvestre de Sousa in the saddle again he rates an obvious choice but the 11/4 generally available looks very fair indeed.
Pretty Bubbles is an admirable mare but she’s not improving these days and she might need the handicapper to drop her a pound or three before she can win again, while Steelriver is on a long losing run stretching back 36 races.
Swiss Cross has done all his recent winning at Lingfield and looks to need either seven furlongs or a really strong pace at six now he’s a double-digit age, while Dutiful Son isn’t an obvious one to appreciate dropping back in trip.
The danger could be Sophisticated Heir who is interesting with Clifford Lee taking 5lb off, but he’s another one that has found at least one or two too good in recent starts and that could well be the case again with Escalating here.
At almost 3/1, he looks the bet.
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Posted at 0907 BST on 29/03/17.