Daryl Carter's Tips: 7/1 Balding will strike again with classy Newmarket Rowley Cup runner

• Mount Atlas is a cracking punt for Old Rowley Cup glory

• Look to Ryan to Rocket home in Persian War

• Is Midnight Thunder a Group 1 horse in the making?

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13:47 Newmarket - Back Midnight Thunder @ 15/44.75 1pt

One of the horses I have been most impressed with this flat season is Midnight Thunder - 15/44.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - and this step up in grade is no more than a formality given the impressive nature of his two recent victories.

The Saeed bin Suroor runner has sparkled on the racecourse and shown electric early speed, so the move back to five furlongs should pose no issue, and he is very well-balanced and straightforward.

Although his form can be questioned as he moves up in grade, his mid-race sectionals at Yarmouth last time suggest this is a Group horse in the making. I am happy to play him at 5/23.50 or bigger.

I want to be against The Strikin Viking, who didn't step forward last time and has looked vulnerable at the finish. The drop in trip could be a positive for him, given the speed figure he clocked on debut at York, but much water has passed under the bridge since then. Treasure Isle is a fair horse, but only that. If there is a genuine Group 1 horse here, it's the unexposed Midnight Thunder.

14:40 York - Back Master Builder @ 9/43.25 1pt

This will be fought out between this column's last-time-out winning pair, The Reverend and Master Builder - 9/43.25 on the Betfair Sportsbook. Choosing between them has not been easy, but Master Builder crossed the line at Haydock looking like a Group horse in a handicap, and the third has certainly boosted that form since at Ascot.

His Haydock victory looked like a coming of age for him, and while he was given an excellent ride, the performance to come from the rear of the field in a race where the pace was sedate means the performance was marked up. He is a thorough stayer and has proven stamina over The Reverend, so he gets the vote off what looks like a very workable mark of 95 considering the level of his form in his last four starts, with even the Salisbury Novice runner-up, Subsequent, now rated ten pounds higher than him.

The ground looks perfect, and this long home straight is just what he wants as he proved at Haydock to wind up and finish powerfully.
Minstrel Knight will go well, and Filibustering has a bigger effort in him.

Back the selection at 9/43.25 or bigger.

15:15 Chepstow - Back Ryan's Rocket @ 10/34.33 2.5pt

I had been sitting and hoping that Paul Nicholls would enter Teeshan for this race as he took out a chunk of the ante-post market. However, he has not been declared, but I have had a strong fancy for this race all week in Ryan's Rocket - 10/34.33 on the Betfair Sportsbook - and his chances have been enhanced with the defection of the ante-post market leaders.

In all honesty, I thought he would beat them anyway. Fergal O'Brien has a fair record in this race, but Ryan's Rocket has achieved far more than his official rating of 122 suggests, and he should be a clear favourite.

He returns from 158 days off but took very well to hurdling at the first attempt at Taunton last December when chasing home the 129-rated Fiercely Proud and pulling miles clear of the rest of the field. The winner placed the next twice in Grade 2 company, and the selection was unfavourably placed in midfield in a steady run affair, which gave the winner the first run. Ryan's Rocket made no trouble scoring the next time at the same venue, giving Manuelity ten pounds, and that runner has scored twice since and is rated 121. He recorded a good time figure on his last start at Kempton when winning by a wide margin, and today's move-up in trip is a big positive on his pedigree.

Further conviction in his form comes from his point-to-point victory, in which he slammed the now 130-rated Moon D'Orange.

He will enjoy the ground and has surely been lined up for a tilt at this prize. He gets a confident vote to score over Flying Fortune, a five-year-old Mare and second-season Novice Hurdler who has been running well during the summer months.

Intense Approach is not worthy of his rating of 130 at this time. Vincenzo is interesting and was pitched here at the final hour (also entered in the SIlver Cup). However, the fourth behind Ryan's Rocket and Fiercely Proud at Taunton, Geezer Rockstar, comfortably held that one following that race.

I am happy to play here at 5/23.50 or bigger.

16:10 Newmarket - Back Mount Atlas @ 7/18.00 3pt (NAP)

One of the better bets of the day is Andrew Balding's Mount Atlas - 7/18.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who I am surprised is not battling it out at the top of this market.

The three-year-old looks to have been saved for the race the yard won last year with Alsakib and arrives entirely unexposed at staying trips.

He was eye-catching in a handful of qualifying runs, including at Kempton in his last Novice outing when tenderly handled. He then won with authority on his handicap debut at Ascot, having been just pushed out at the finish.

The runner-up, Insanity, won the next time out and is rated seven higher. The third won the Melrose next time and is ten higher. The fifth slammed home at Newmarket in a Listed race and is rated eight higher. The sixth thumped his rivals at Newmarket next time and is rated eight higher in the handicap.

Mount Atlas is rated just seven pounds higher despite being very comfortable on top, and he gets the services of Oisin Murphy for this valuable prize. He rates a cracking bet and is undoubtedly a 100-rated horse in the making.

He is one of the day's best bets and must be backed at 4/15.00 or bigger.

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