David Massey provides the Wednesday Punting Pointers and he has three bets on the all-weather.
Racing betting tips: Wednesday January 8
0.5pts e.w Starliner in the 3.33 Newcastle at 12/1 (1/5 1,2,3, General, min 10/1)
1pt e.w Ahamoment in the 4.03 Newcastle at 7/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4, Paddy Power, min 6/1)
1pt win Francesco Baracca in the 8.00 Kempton at 7/2 (General, take no lower)
3:33 Newcastle
This is an open-looking contest where quite a bit of the form intertwines nicely, with Red Maids probably coming out on top on that score. I’m not entirely convinced that the Red Maids - a strong traveller but one who tends to start slowly - is an ideal ride for a 7lb claimer, though, and that’s a slight concern, with all due respect to the promising Taryn Langley. I have a similar query regarding Barnaby whose rider Louise Akehurst looked very weak last season despite a brace of wins on the front-running Amazing Winnie, and I much prefer to chance STARLINER today.
Starliner looks held by a couple of these on his last run when well held behind King’s School, but his usual hood was missing and he basically ran too free without it, leaving himself nothing for the finish. Previous to that he’d made all to win over C&D, setting some nice steady fractions and quickening from the front to beat, and ran just as well when second again over this C&D off a 5lb higher mark a month later.
With the hood back on, and little pace in the race, there’s every chance Tommie Jakes, who knows the horse well, can revert back to the front-running tactics that saw him home in front here in November. Without the blowout last time, he’d be a shorter price here than he’s likely to be, and that’s an easy run to forgive.
4:03 Newcastle
Speaking of that King’s School formline, AHAMOMENT, who finished a close fourth to him here on his latest start, looked to be coming back to form having shaped as if in need of his first two runs back after a short break.
The case for him is a very simple one; he takes a drop in grade here, has winning C&D form and should now be cherry-ripe on this, his fourth run this winter. There’s enough pace in the race, courtesy of Pallas Lord (who will be winning again once his trainer, Donald Whilens, finds form), Rebecca’s Girl and Tasever, for Ahamoment to come through late and win from a mark that only just allows him to squeeze into this lower-class handicap.
8:00 Kempton
It’s no surprise to see Zoran put in as favourite for this 2m handicap having finished a creditable length third of 11 to Duke of Oxford in a similar race last time, but I think he has his work cut out conceding the guts of a stone to FRANCESCO BARACCA, who was less than four lengths behind him in that contest at level weights. The turnaround definitely favours Eve Johnson Houghton’s Golden Horn gelding who did good late work from off the pace that day and has now produced two of his best efforts over this track and trip when tried in a hood, and the headgear looks key to his chances.
Normally a hard puller, Francesco Baracca has raced more amenably in the hood on two of his last three starts, and has shown improved form as a result, with a lesser effort in between coming without the headgear. Forced to race from 9lb out of the weights last time in a better handicap, he’s now back on his correct mark and is weighted to turn the tables with Zoran now. It’s probably no disadvantage that Eddie Greatrex replaced the gelding’s regular rider as Greatrex has ridden four winners (3/1, 3/1, 10/3, 11/1) from his last ten rides and is clearly full of confidence at present.
Preview posted at 0918 GMT on 07/01/25
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