Daryl Carter's Tips: 4/1 Beckett handicap debutant is the Sandown play

• Games People Play can make a successful handicap debut

• High Fibre looks well treated at York

• Back Moonlit Cloud to continue the progressive thread

Friday morning update

If you have read this column, I can imagine most are asking why Gallant Lion is not on this list today, having referred to his race multiple times. The short answer is he is priced accordingly at 2/13.00. I would be interested in a slightly bigger price around 11/43.75 or 3/14.00, and I was waiting until Friday morning to see any price movement. He would be an advised bet at those prices, but the below ran just as well, if not better, and are tackling lesser assignments today. Keep Gallant Lion on the side but only at 11/43.75 or bigger.

15:50 Sandown - Back Games People Play @ 4/15.00 2.5pt

Games People Play - 4/15.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - put in a smart effort only to be narrowly denied at Newbury in what will likely turn out to be a hot maiden contest after it clocked an excellent time figure comparable to the deep handicap on the card that Gallant Lion (runs earlier on the card) emerges from as well as the well-run following Novice.

If she can take a step forward from that effort and strip fitter following that reappearance, then there's a good chance she will be well handicapped off this opening mark of 81. The front three in that Maiden pulled clear of the remainder, and the winner had previously been a narrow third to La Pasionaria, now rated 98, and Matsuri (102).

Further evidence to support the claims comes from her debut run at Goodwood when chasing home a subsequent winner who made a winning start to handicap life from a mark of 92 (now rated 98). The runner-up from that debut outing is also a winner rated 88, while the fourth bolted up next time to record an RPR of 99 when scorching away at Newmarket.

It's well worth putting a line through her Lingfield AW run when badly hampered by a horse that unfortunately broke down, and she now looks ready to kick on.

She is by far the form setter in this race and makes plenty of appeal at 11/43.75 or bigger with the time figure of her latest effort, the angle into this race, and one that has been missed. Signalman will improve switched to a sounder surface and is feared the most.

16:10 York - Back High Fibre @ 7/18.00 1pt

Harry Fry's High Fibre - 7/18.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - caught the eye on his belated return to action at Newbury (Gallant Lion race) when fitted with a first-time tongue tie and finished with a strong rattle under Jamie Spencer in a race where it was not favoured to be held up.

Jack Enright now claims seven off his back, which makes him look even better treated at the foot of the weights. If he can reproduce his latest effort, he must go close, considering he clocked the fastest closing sectionals. He has not been easy to keep right, but he had so much left in the tank at Newbury that it was hard to ignore. Coupled with a very positive effort to his name at this venue as a two-year-old, he could be the answer.

He is well-treated on the balance of his form, and there's good reason to think he can take a step forward from his return. This is the first opportunity to put back-to-back efforts together for three years, and he was a dominant winner on the only occasion he had the chance to do it. While I would prefer to see a Jamie Spencer on rather than a claiming jockey, he is tough to let go.
He looks worth chancing at 7/18.00 or bigger.

16:45 York - Back Moonlit Cloud @ 8/19.00 1pt e/w (5 places)

Arctic Mountain may be thrown in here, but the form of his run just six days ago is slightly questionable, and if the rain arrives, he will have something to prove. Life On The Rocks similarly turns out quickly under a penalty, having clung on at Wetherby three days ago, and the quick turnaround may not be a positive.

Next in the market - Pol Roger - may be the answer, but his only disappointment as a two-year-old came here, so Moonlit Cloud - 8/19.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - looks worth chancing, having proven to come good this time last year.

The six-year-old appears more exposed than most, but she arrives on the back of two career-best efforts. She has run a blinder at Newbury and is making a drop in grade.

She was another poorly positioned (Gallant Lion race) but travelled like the best-handicapped horse in the contest only to see the winner and runner-up kick on again. The Newbury form has already seen the well-positioned second score next time out, and she has hit the frame on turf in 10 of her 19 outings.

She has an excellent heart and will not mind any ground changes that are likely to happen due to impending rainfall.

Back her no shorter than 8/19.00.

Now Read: Kevin Blake's Royal Ascot best bets here.