Daryl Carter's Tips: Significant drop in grade will suit Appleby's Wolverhampton runner

• Fakir is worth chancing at likely generous odds

• Starshiba holds excellent claims in a weak Wolverhampton race

• Take a swing with Dawn Of Liberation

16:30 Galway - Back Fakir D'oudairies @ BSP 1pt

The fact that Fakir D'oudairies even lines up in a hurdle race worth just 10,000 euros is a red flag. Still, he comes off very well at the weights here, and the presence of Mark Walsh and the first-time tongue-tie suggests connections mean business and are possibly looking for a confidence booster.

Today is the first start over hurdles for the O'Brien runner since 2019 when touched off by Fussil Raffles and a neck second to Pentland Hills at the Aintree Festival - both in Grade 1 contests.

He had a low-key season last term, running only twice in two handicaps from impossible ratings of 161 and 162. The first of those, he ran exceptionally well, but it's tough to take confidence from the latest, and whether he retains his ability is up for question - and there is every chance this is a prep run for something like the Kerry National in a few weeks.

Still, even with all that considered, if he retains a smidge of his once-classy self, he would need to manage a safe round to win this. The nine-year-old has ideal conditions and has a strong record when fresh, so he is exceptionally tough to ignore.

Lord Erskine's stamina and age are under question, while French Dynamite has struggled for some time and looks on the downgrade. Kings Hill has an uphill task at the weights, and The Wallpark, although excellent here 37 days ago when getting up from an impossible task, must give the selection ten pounds.

There won't be many better opportunities than this for Fakir D'oudaries to grace the winner's enclosure, so providing he is straight, he should be able to care for these rivals.

He is already 6/42.50 on the Betfair Exchange and small money overnight has come for The Wall Park, so I am expecting a generous price on the machine and one I think it's unwise to leave on the table, even if he needs the outing.

18:00 Wolverhampton - Back Starshiba @ BSP 1pt

It's a quiet Monday, so you can forgive me for having a look at a Class 6 Claiming Stakes race. The title adds to the claims of Starshiba who must hold excellent claims as one of the day's best bets under Frederick Larson for this small prize.

The seven-year-old is long in the tooth, but he ran well at Ascot in much sterner company than this 58 days ago and that followed an eye-catching run when he should have landed a good-looking Class 4 race at Doncaster but for a denied clear passage.

He now returns to the AW and takes a significant drop in class following a short break of 58 days. His record after 50 days off or more reads well, and he was a course and distance victor off 7lb higher in Class 4 company as recently as December. Today is his first crack at a level lower than Class 4 since he was narrowly denied at Lingfield in January 2023.

Furthermore, he is back to six furlongs, significantly down in the handicap and tackles this trip for the first time since Southwell when narrowly beaten by the useful Billyjoh earlier this year in February.

There's plenty of reason to think he can land this poor event but he can't get any shorter than his current 13/82.63.

18:30 Wolverhampton - Back Dawn Of Liberation @ 7/18.00 1pt

It might be worth taking a chance with Dawn Of Liberation - 7/18.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook - who hasn't won for a while but returns to the AW, where he was having a productive time of things earlier this year and has since fallen in the weights in seven starts on turf.

The five-year-old twice went off favourite for contests on the AW in his first four starts for this yard between March and May in stronger races than this and ran four RPR ratings of 92, 90, 90 and 91 when rated in the high 80s.

He is now down to 76, but this is a weaker Class 4 than any of those races, and he shaped well in a strong Class 3 on his seasonal debut when looking in need of the outing.

A few of these have questions over their finishing efforts over this 1m distance, but Dawn Of Liberation is a strong stayer over 1m, and he found only Pjanoo too good here on his only visit. He is worth chancing at 5/16.00 or bigger, with a sound pace likely to benefit him.

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