Rhys Williams' Friday Racing Tips: Jessie Pye to break her maiden

Any further rain will help chances

Bath 17:25: Jessie Pye 1pt win 15/4

Rain forecast this morning could turn the ground at Bath on the soft side, which may not be ideal for a couple of horses towards the head of the market in the opening race. But it would suit Jessie Pye.

She ran well on handicap debut on soft ground at Windsor over five furlongs despite being squeezed out at the start which left her at the back of the field. She never seemed to be travelling as a result of that and was pushed along in last with three furlongs to go but she kept responding willingly to pressure to finish second.

She got a better start when finishing third over six furlongs at Lingfield last time. She was shaken along to get to the near side rail and raced in a share of the lead with Bungledupinblue setting a strong pace. While that rival dropped away with just over a furlong to go, Jessie Pye dug in for pressure and was only beaten a length in third.

Jessie Pye fared best of those that raced prominently and did well to finish so close behind the winner given the pace that she helped to set.

The possibility of cut in the ground will help her, whereas it might not suit Ruby Cottage or Portelet Bay, and I think this trip might be ideal for her judged on her two latest runs.

It might be that her improvement comes later as physically she's a long term prospect, which likely explains why she only made her debut in the May of her three-year-old season, but she's shown enough ability in her last two starts to suggest that she can win off a mark of 64 and any 100/30 or bigger appeals.

Returning to a suitable distance

Musselburgh 20:52: Reely Bonnie 1pt win 12/1

Reely Bonnie's rating has been on the slide this season and that's left her eligible for this 0-50 classified stakes.

She finished 5½ lengths behind the favourite for today's race, Clotherholme, over C&D four starts ago when conceding 8lb to that rival but shaped better than that result suggests. She was making headway when she had trouble trying to get through a tight gap between two rivals with just over two furlongs to go and had to be steadied. She couldn't get anywhere near the leaders after that and wasn't given a hard ride by her inexperienced rider to come home in fifth.

She was dropped back to six furlongs on her next start at Hamilton and wasn't given the most efficient of rides. Having been a bit slowly away, she was rushed up to track the leaders and then dropped away late on.

Reely Bonnie was then stepped up in trip to 1m1f at Musselburgh and had a hood on for the first time. Dropped out in last, she couldn't get anywhere near the leaders at any stage and was well beaten.

The hood came off on her latest run at Hamilton over 1m½f and she shaped a bit better. Having initially been dropped out at the back of the field, she then raced lazily and became detached from the back of the field. She was still in last with three furlongs to go before making some ground while having to switch left and right for a run, but the effort to make that much ground from the position she had been in took its toll late on and she finished ninth.

The step back down to seven furlongs should suit having raced over what looked an unsuitable trip on her last three starts and a visor now goes on for the first time after racing lazily last time. With this first time headgear hopefully sparking her up and that she's drawn widest of the field in stall 11, it may be advisable for them to try to ride her handily given that there's not much early pace in this race.

It could be that Reely Bonnie just isn't as good as she was and there's a chance that she may get trapped wide but in such a weak contest I think she has a chance of being competitive again and any 9/1 or bigger appeals.