Daryl Carter's Tips: Sole Southwell bet 7/4 sets a strong standard

• Holds strong recent form

• Can improve for the move back to seven furlongs

• He must go well with an experience edge

18:00 Southwell - Back Vultar @ 7/42.75 1pt

There's very little for me to have a go at today, and if I am not betting it, then I don't expect you to either. The only race that interests me comes remarkably from Southwell, which I wouldn't usually glimpse twice at.

Still, the clear form pick in this Novice contest is Clive Cox's Vultar - 7/42.75 on the Betfair Sportsbook - and the market has kept his price very reasonable. He came from an unpromising position at Kempton last time to chase home a couple of useful rivals over six furlongs and is open to further improvement back over seven.

He shaped with plenty of promise on his first all-weather outing. He backed up his previous Doncaster effort over seven furlongs when held at the death when attempting to give away a five-pound penalty to an Amo Racing improver rated 79. That run, along with the collateral form of the third and a line through the fifth - who ties in with today's rival Summer Of Love - suggests he is more than capable of running into the mid-80s.

The three-year-old was a big eye-catcher on debut at Nottingham when bumping into the now 94-rated Juliet Sierra, who gave the form a good boost by placing fifth in the Group 1 Cheveley Park two starts later. While the selection is far from that level, he has shown enough to think he can get off the mark in a Novice contest, so he gets a good vote of confidence (as confident as I can be given current circumstances).

The dangers come from Summer Of Love and Dolce Courage - the latter needs monitoring in the market - but his experience can count, and he can gain a deserved victory.

Newmarket 14:40 - Back The Shunter @ 26.025/1 1pt (Ante-post Saturday)

The Cesarewitch Handicap on Saturday at Newmarket doesn't look as deep as recent renewals, and it's certainly not as deep as the Irish version in which Emmet Mullins was due to run The Shunter before he was withdrawn for "coughing".

That could be a blessing in disguise for the master trainer as there are only eleven horses in this field rated higher than him, while there were 12 rated 100 plus at the Curragh. This also means he will get a run should connections confirm at the 48-hour stage on Thursday.

The Shunter - 26.025/1 on the Betfair Exchange - looks to have been set up to grab another big prize for connections. You'll remember well how he was plotted for the Greatwood Hurdle before the Paddy Power Chase at the Cheltenham Festival two years ago - while it hasn't always been rainbows and Sunshine since then, he did reach a monumental level over hurdles and fences.

Stuck between a rock and a hard place in the National Hunt sphere, connections look to have turned their head towards the flat. He won as he liked at Sligo in a Maiden in May, recording an RPR of 88, taking care of some far inferior rivals (in both codes), but showed a bright turn of foot over 1m5f to score from a steady pace.

Still, his run at Killarney in August last year caught the eye when he was third to Cape Gentleman when he stayed on powerfully from the rear of the field only to be beaten two lengths.

The Stewards had a good look at the run! In weights and measures terms, he gave four pounds to the winner (and stablemate), who had a rating of 100. The second in receipt of seven pounds is rated 93 on the all-weather. At the same time, the fourth was beaten three lengths next time in the Irish Cesarewitch off of a rating of 101.

That was a very eye-catching effort and just his second effort on the level, while it confirmed his stamina for staying trips on the flat. A suspicious run over 1m at Punchestown before another eye-catching effort in fourth at Naas in the November handicap off 93 (4/1f) followed before his latest prep spin in August.

Still, one suspects the 50k prize on offer at Naas was not the pot he was after, and this 100k to-the-winner race would surely be far more appealing.

This stiff stamina test coming over to Britain will suit, and he can exploit this rating of 93 on the flat, which is so clearly within reach on the evidence of his five flat runs.

This could be one last hurrah for The Shunter, who has paid his way no end for connections, and while the 16/117.00 on the Betfair Sportsbook (25/126.00 in the wider marketplace) is acceptable, I don't suspect they will be leaving anything behind and win-only appeals more on the Betfair Exchange with plenty of 26.025/1 about.