Racing League Tips: Time to recoup Akkeringa cash from 12 months ago

Yes, after making its debut in 2021, the Racing League is back, and the competition has been given a slight revamp. Instead of 12 sponsored teams, we now have regional line-ups.

Scotland, the North, Ireland, Wales, Yorkshire, the West, the East as well as London and the South.

They will compete across 42 races over six meetings every Thursday.

The team aspect makes a little appeal to me, in all honesty, but the competitive action and the excellent prize money brings makes plenty.

However, to make you aware, there are 25 points for first, and then it's filtered down to those that finish behind, with each team at the end of the series counting up their points to see who the winner is.

Quick turnaround is a concern, but Galiac is crying out for new test

The opening contest, the 17:40 at Doncaster, threw up its first bet but not without minor reservations. Galiac 5.04/1 represents Wales and the West and has turned out quickly today, five days after he failed to fire at Goodwood.

Still, the slow pace and his mid-division position left him vulnerable on the downhill finish. He took a while to warm the engine, but by the time he got going, he had conceded the first run, and the race got away from him. His finishing effort didn't go unnoticed. He is bred to improve with distance, so its strange connections have taken their time to move him up in trip.

He needs winding up like an old lawn mower, but once he gets the engine revved, his finished speed is that of one ahead of the handicapper.

That was evident with his late burst at Newmarket two starts ago when benefitting from a strong pace - one he is likely to get here with front runners Mostawaa, Copper And Five and Antaognize drawn three, seven and 12.

He has been screaming for this step up in trip, and with an aggressive ride from Adam Kirby, we likely should see the best of him today, even if the quick turnaround is a slight concern.

Fresh Hope likely to trade short in running in R2

The night's second race sees the progressive Fresh Hope 4.03/1 take her chance for Rupert Bell and the East at 18:10. She is not as straightforward as a punter would like at the top of the market and she takes up plenty of it, so there's value elsewhere.

She has traded at 2.0, 1.18, 1.12, and 2.0 in four of her six starts when failing to win.

She will need to be delivered perfectly by Hayley Turner, but it could be a good opportunity for in-running punters to stick in a lay bet.

Ascot Adventure 10.09/1 for team Wales and the West was better than the bare result at Goodwood after suffering a wide passage for much of the contest, and he could still be on an upward curve refreshed after 60 days off the track. His fast-finishing running style could work out well here should Adam Kirby stalk Fresh Hope and pounce late.

Ascot Adventure may have been over the top at Goodwood given his lacklustre finishing effort there, and his very best efforts have come on the back of a break, so arriving here after time off the track may have been by design. I am more than happy to take the chance at the odds, after all, he is unexposed at this distance, and his form has a strong look to it in the context of this race.

Zabbie wildly overpriced at 20/1

To my surprise, the best-valued bet came in the two-year-old contest at 18:40 R3, where the Richard Hannon-trained Zabbie 21.020/1 has gone completely overlooked by the market.

The favourite X J Rascal 3.7511/4 has not gone missed at the head of affairs after blowing the start at Goodwood seven days ago and running a screamer from a wide draw in stall 12 only to be narrowly touched off.

I could be missing the blinding obvious here and Zabbie is a little harder to warm to, but a much bigger price, and she may well have beaten this favourite at Brighton but for a hampered finish just as she was hitting a flat spot. She finished on the bridle that day, and her latest effort, when drawn in the car park at Southwell but doing superbly well posted widest of all for the entire race, is not a performance to be dismissed lightly.

The step up in distance today is a good source of improvement judged on any of her turf runs in this short career, and her half-brother Robjon posted his best two-year-old effort once he stepped up to seven furlongs.

Her price tag of 21.020/1 looks wild, and anything 11.010/1 or bigger is acceptable for an each-way punt.

Hard to let go of Akkeringa bad beat 12 months ago

The final bet on the card came in the 19:10 R4 in the form of our old pal Akkeringa 9.08/1, who broke my heart and my wallet in this contest 12 months ago when doing his best work at the death.

Quest For Fun 4.03/1 will no doubt prove tough to beat, and he is the unexposed fly in the ointment - another race where I could be overlooking the obvious.

His form is strong from his two wins this term, and they have not come out of the blue. Still, he is well found at the head of affairs and I am hoping his draw in stall three on the wing could pose him issues.

Akkeringa came from the clouds to chase home Night Of Romance, now in Ireland and rated some 21 pounds higher in the handicap.

He completely missed the break putting him on the back foot and at the rear of the field, but he did the best of those from off the pace with a fast finishing effort, only to find the line come too quick.

He is relatively unexposed for a four-year-old, and his first two starts of the season can be forgiven (he needed a couple of runs to get going last term). Outside of his debut run, he has run two excellent races at this venue, scoring in emphatic style to shed his Maiden tag before this contest last term.

On the balance of his form he should be better than a rating of 79 and he has all the ingredients today to put it all together and reclaim our cash from 12 months ago.

It greatley helps that he is arriving on the back of victory at Newmarket and looks in excellent fettle.