Kajaki can travel sweetly again
15:00 Musselburgh - Back Kajaki @ 3.929/10
If you want a nice back-to-lay trade for the afternoon, Kajaki looks prime for a in-and-out bet at Musselburgh. I'm also backing him to win.
The 7yo was a fair horse on the Flat for Kevin Ryan, and I am hoping there's a bit more to come from his current hurdles' rating.
He left Ryan for Nicky Richards, and he started off well for the stable last time out at Doncaster finishing second to Pagero. That was Kajaki's first run for 152 days, and he travelled strongly for a large part of the race. It was soft at Donny, and I think Kajaki is a better horse on ground less-taxing. He acts on it fine (and has a win on heavy), but a sounder surface really suits his style. Perhaps that's why he is rocking up at the Scottish track, as they tend to get better ground.
There was a fairly unlucky effort over Musselburgh's 2m4f last winter, and once again with the way he moved through the race on that occasion, he could be ahead of his mark.
He's not a wild price, but most certainly looks the likeliest winner. You can click here to find out more about trading and back-to-lay bets.
Second selection can hit the target at "Leafy"
15:10 Lingfield - Back My Target @ 4.84/1
The 15:10 looks a tricky little handicap to solve as the market views this as a toss-up between Starfighter and My Target, and my preference is for the latter as he's well treated on some of his old form around the track.
However, it would be remiss of me not to mention the owner of Starfighter - Laurence Bellman. He offered up on twitter a pair of free owners' tickets for the day with a chance to experience the joys of racehorse ownership. Whoever took up the offer, they will have a great day. And what a lovely gesture from Laurence - who is a fellow West Ham fan too.
But on to the business of finding a winner, and the case for My Target is fairly straightforward.
Last time he ran over course and distance but couldn't quite get past El Ghazwani, but it was a good run from 79, and he's running from a winnable mark compared to his old rating in 2018.
Lingfield is a track he goes well at, and he is a well established runner in 0-85 grade. With a pace to run at, I am hoping the veteran can get his head in front again.
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