Bets of the Day: Williams charge will enjoy the drop in trip and class

Alan Thompson
16 March 2020

Railroad Junkie has the ability to win this

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Both Alan's selections finished second yesterday after trading below 1.51/2 in running. Today he returns with two more from Southwell and Kelso...

"He ran better than the bare figure suggests when seventh in a higher grade at Kempton two starts ago."

Back Railroad Junkie at 3/1 in the 14:30 Southwell

Railroad Junkie is back in his comfort zone

Back Railroad Junkie at 3/1 in the 14:30 Southwell

Evan Williams runs Railroad Junkie off what could be a favourable mark. You could never call him consistent but the seven-year-old scored in this grade last winter off just a 2lb lower rating and he ran better than the bare figure suggests when seventh in a higher grade at Kempton two starts ago. Today he is also dropping back to two miles and into Class 4 competition, a distance and level of ability that both of his wins have come at. Last season he was running well in better quality than this and off a mark as high as 119, he also gets on well with his regular partner Adam Wedge, the 95 day break is a bit of a concern but he has put in good performances in the past coming off a break.

The favourite is likely to be the top weight Twotwothree for Oliver Greenall, he is rated 119 after winning back-to-back in October and November of this season but that was off 9lbs lower than today's mark. To be fair he is dropping into a much easier race this time but last time out he was never in the race and after making a mistake at the fourth he was allowed to come home in his own time. He's obviously a danger but I just feel he could still be a little too high in the handicap.

Scottish Accent is getting better with each run

Back Scottish Accent at 3/1 in the 15:10 Kelso

It's been steady improvement for Rebecca Menzies' seven-year-old Scottish Accent in three hurdling starts, showing improvement each time, including a very pleasing handicap debut when third at Catterick at 40/1 earlier this month where he was bumped two out just as the race was getting to the business end. He will have learned from that and he is able to race off the same mark today and is completely unexposed, both over this distance and in terms of ability. He's promising and if the improvement continues to come - he gets headgear added today for the first time - then this looks like a good opportunity to get off the mark.

Only five go to post for this and it's going to be interesting to see how Lucinda Russell's Island Heights performs on just his second start after a 443 day break. He returned to run third at Musselburgh last month which was encouraging but his front running style over three miles demands peak fitness and you'd wonder if he is quite their yet. The one I fear more is Skyhill, who has won twice and placed twice in his four previous runs at the track. But for me he is a better chaser than hurdler and has just one win from 10 starts over hurdles.