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Screen Siren a single 15/28.50 winner yesterday
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Recoded shaped well on his debut at Ayr last term
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Russell newcomer sure to go well in bumper
A few useful horses have been successful in the Carlisle 14:25 Novices' Hurdle in the past 10 seasons, with the likes of Al Dancer, Mackenburg and Springwell Bay all winning.
Trainer Lorna Fowler has shown she's well capable of mixing it in Ireland with her horses and she certainly has a better standard of runner now, and her sorties to the UK are more frequent. Her Recoded makes his hurdling debut today and it was good to see him fairly positive on the Sportsbook this morning in from 6/17.00 to 4/15.00.
He shaped with a ton of promise in an Ayr bumper last season, his sole start, and finished a good third behind a Charles Byrnes horse - who has subsequently performed well over 2m4f in a Novices' Hurdle.
Recoded was travelling just as well as the winner going into the straight although his position out wide, and kept wide by the eventual winner meant he saw more daylight on the outside.
He was a little bit green and showed his inexperience when the tempo revved up down the straight, but he looked a willing sort with a bit of size and presence about him. He outran his odds of 16/117.00 that day and hit 2/13.00 in-running.
Ayr was good, good to soft for his debut and conditions should be similar today. His Ayr race looked fair form and I am backing him to put in a decent round today.
It's no secret with my fondness for backing horses from the Lucinda Russell team, and the stable have been a good source of winners so far this season for the column as she ticks along at a strike-rate of 26%.
Her Carlisle team looks a fair one today and I wouldn't be surprised if she came away with another double or treble and her bumper runner looks the most interesting, and I wasn't alone as Tommys Law's price of 9/43.25 was snapped up this morning.
I am still happy to take the 7/42.75, and he does have a Carlisle pedigree if such a thing exists as he's related to Russell's Do It For Dalkey, who had plenty of winning form at the track and was a strong stayer at 2m4f in testing ground.
Further down the line he's related to the stamina-laden Dalky Sound, who ran for Mary Reveley in the 90s and finished second in a Scottish National.
The selection finished second in an a pair of Irish Points and cost 75k at the Aintree Sales in the Spring. The booking of Patrick Wadge also is a plus as he's able to take off 3lb and Wadge is a fine young jockey who heads into the meeting with 3-15 in the last month.
*Click here for Daryl Carter's tips for Thursday