"She's dropped down to her lowest ever mark of 57 and wears a visor for the first time. It's not a great race but her draw is a good one for the tricky 7f start."
Alan Dudman is pinning his pre-Cheltenham hopes on a pair of double-figure runners at Wolverhampton on Monday in a 113/1 each-way double...
Lady can outrun her double-figure odds
Back Lady Alavesa @ 11/1 in the 17:00 at Wolverhampton
As with all good each-way bets, both selections yesterday finished one place out of the money. Stormy Judge travelled very well and hit a low of 2.01/1 in-play for the Leinster National, but appeared not to stay in the stamina draining ground.
The three jumps' cards are passed over for Monday as a couple of double-figure prices can go well at Wolves, and Lady Alavesa deserves another chance for some place money with a pair of recent efforts.
One was an unlucky run at Kempton under Josephine "JoGo" Gordon, as she travelled nicely but like a few races these days on the inner at the Sunbury track, the gap wouldn't open for her.
She was upped in distance on her latest start over the extended 1m at Wolves and indicated she can win, or certainly can get close from her current rating of 52. The drop back in trip will help, and tactics will be interesting, as she has made the running before when winning at Kempton over 1m. Her draw isn't bad for the 7f start to do so again, but a few of her performances are littered with slow beginnings and she'll need to eradicate that.
The grade isn't an issue, and she's a big price at 11/1.
Lou has a chance, but Red's day can come
Back Red Evelyn @ 17/2 in the 17:30 at Wolverhampton
Luxy Lou came under serious consideration for this typical, bog-standard low grade handicap, but I missed the price last night at 8/1, and for a horse who is 0-13, that's a far from sensible tactic. I would love to claim the 8s!
At a much bigger price with a similar profile is Red Evelyn, and with the Extra Place Special on the Sportsbook, she is worth an each-way shot.
Having won her novice in the winter of 2021, she struggled to get to grips, and indeed win, from her allotted rating. She ran some solid races in defeat most notably around Lingfield, and has shaped on more than one occasion as if she will stay 1m well.
That was certainly the view when she raced over CD in January behind Lincoln Gamble when finishing second. The winner received an enterprising ride with a swoop and loop move early in the race, and while Red Evelyn travelled quite nicely early on, her middle section was her worst as she was caught out when the tempo increased running a 12.22 middle sectional. But she did respond and her final 2f were quicker than the winner's.
She's dropped down to her lowest ever mark of 57 and wears a visor for the first time. It's not a great race but her draw is a good one for the tricky 7f start.