Having secured the hat-trick in most impressive fashion last time, the step up in grade should provide few problems for the progressive Mince (Ascot 15:05). Roger Charlton's filly is really thriving at present, registering a career-best effort when decimating her rivals at York last time, and she holds obvious claims based on that success. Conditions shouldn't be a concern for this rapidly-improving three-year-old, who has shown herself to be effective on a variety of surfaces, and she can get us off to the perfect start.
We don't have to wait long until our second SmartPlay runs, as we take a chance that Firebeam will prove capable of landing the 15:10 at Redcar. The William Haggas-trained gelding has run respectably on his latest three starts, despite being set some rather stiff assignments, and may benefit from today's drop to listed level. Firebeam can boast some smart form over seven furlongs and, unperturbed by cut in the ground, looks to have everything in his favour today.
A tendency to pull hard had threatened to spoil Ultrasonic's progress, but the application of a hood has had a positive effect and she looks capable of claiming the 17:00 at Newmarket. An emphatic winner of a July Course handicap on her penultimate start, Ultrasonic was not discredited when finishing second in a listed event at Pontefract, finding only the above-mentioned Mince too strong. There are some improving fillies in this contest, but Ultrasonic sets a fair standard and is also open to further progress.
Timeform SmartPlays:
Back Mince @ 3.5551/20 in the 15:05 at Ascot
Back Firebeam @ 4.3100/30 in the 15:10 at Redcar
Back Ultrasonic @ 4.84/1 in the 17:00 at Newmarket
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