Our first bet of the day comes in the feature contest at York, a fiercely competitive and valuable sprint handicap over six furlongs (15:30) and everything points to Aetna repeating the winning performance she put in over C&D at the Dante meeting. Although that was back in May the form worked out particularly well when Baccarat went on to land the Wokingham at Royal Ascot. The selection has since confirmed her well being after being given a break by shaping with real promise at Newmarket last time and considering she encounters her ideal conditions again this afternoon, she looks an excellent bet.
We head south to Newmarket now for a typically competitive renewal of the Cesarewitch (15:50) and it's hard to see past Quick Jack for handicap maestro Tony Martin. He's been both consistent and progressive since finishing second at the Galway festival in 2013, with five wins and four places from his last nine starts. He's proven off the back of a break as he showed when hosing up at Galway in July and given he's won over an extended two miles at Cheltenham in November he shouldn't have any problems staying the trip. There are plenty of dangers as is always the case in these historic handicaps but everything looks right for this talented dual purpose performer to add another big handicap pot to his name.
We return to the Knavesmire for our final bet of the day which comes in the staying handicap over 18 furlongs (16:45) and Kashmiri Sunset is a very confident selection. He's had a fine season thus far, making the frame in all five outings since opening his account at Chepstow in May. Considering he's been crying out for the step up to this sort of trip for a while now, the fact he managed to finish fourth in the Melrose here back in August is a fairly clear indication of how much ability he possesses. With the emphasis more on stamina than ever before this afternoon Kashmiri Sunset is expected to relish conditions and record an impressive victory. He should be backed accordingly.
Timeform UK SmartPlays
Back Aetna @ 5.49/2 in the 15:30 at York
Back Quick Jack @ 7.413/2 in the 15:50 at Newmarket
Back Kashmiri Sunset @ 3.259/4 in the 16:45 at York
