Horse Racing Tips: Rhys Williams fancies long absent French import at Chepstow

• Showed promise in both hurdling starts

• Wind op can see her finish stronger

• Almeirinda is overpriced at Chepstow

Chepstow - 18:35 - Back Almeirinda

Courageous Strike is the odds-on favourite in this maiden hurdle and he may be too classy for his rivals back down in trip but I think one of his rivals is more of a danger than the market suggests.

Almeirinda started her career in France and showed some promise in both starts over hurdles. On her hurdling debut at Vichy, she was briefly outpaced after making a mistake at the last in the back straight on the final circuit but recovered to track the leaders turning into the home straight. On a track that significantly favours front runners, she couldn't put in a serious challenge but ran respectably to finish fourth. The winner of that race followed up in a stronger race at Auteuil next time while the third was The Good Doctor who has since won a novice hurdle for Ben Pauling.

On her second start at Lyon, Almeirinda initially raced a shade keenly under restraint before gradually settling in midfield. She made headway to track the leader leaving the back straight and they pulled clear of the rest but Almeirinda didn't finish too strongly and was left behind by King Of Saintly late on.

Given that finishing effort, it may be that her wind was impacting her so she may be capable of finishing the race stronger today now that she's had a wind op. While Almeirinda is returning from a long absence and it may be that she won't have the same level of ability that she once did, it's less of a concern coming from this trainer as her French imports can take a while to settle into a different routine.

The ability that Almeirinda showed in those two starts in France, and her potential for improvement after a wind op, suggests she could be more of a danger than the market suggests and any 7/18.00 or bigger appeals. 

Now read Mark Milligan's Friday tips here.