Our first bet on Thursday comes from Yarmouth as we side with Willow Beck in the ten-furlong handicap at 16:40. John Gosden's charge has only had two starts in seven-furlong all-weather maidens to date, but she has shaped with plenty of promise and looks sure to benefit from the step up in trip. The way in which she overcame obvious signs of greenness to win at Wolverhampton last time was obviously encouraging for the future and she is open to plenty of improvement.
The second of our SmartPlays runs in Epsom's concluding race (20:55) as we take a chance on the once-raced Court Pastoral making a successful handicap bow. The form of the maiden Court Pastoral won at Windsor looks decidedly ordinary but she has been allotted a fair opening mark as a consequence and could progress significantly with the benefit of that experience behind her. A daughter of Fillies' Mile winner Teggiano, Court Pastoral is bred to be better than a 76-rated performer and she can cash in against an array of largely-exposed rivals.
The final race at Newbury (21:10) can go to Godolphin's Chesterfield. A winner of his sole start as a two-year-old when trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, Chesterfield showed plenty of promise on his return at Newmarket, finishing a good third behind Maputo and Number One London in a warm handicap. Understandably, Chesterfield still seemed to be slightly green on just his second racecourse start, edging left under pressure in the closing stages, and he should come on for that run. He looks to hold excellent claims this evening.
Timeform UK SmartPlays:
Back Willow Beck @ 2.1411/10 in the 16:40 at Yarmouth
Back Court Pastoral @ 3.55/2 in the 20:55 at Epsom
Back Chesterfield @ 4.131/10 in the 21:10 at Newbury
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