Horse Racing Tips: In-form Drum can call the tune in Tuesday outing at Ponte

Yarmouth, 16.20 - Back Eyes Front @ 13/27.50

The decision to drop Eyes Front back to six furlongs for this Class 5 handicap looks a chance worth taking by connections.

Bar a 66/167.00 Windsor debut where the son of Soldier's Call was patently green and backward over six furlongs, Edward Smyth-Osbourne's gelding has plied his trade over an extra furlong, a move which has brough varying degrees of success.

In fairness to connections, Eyes Front has relatives which have performed well over both sprint trips and further in his pedigree, but his disposition, even now gelded, has sometimes been a little edgy and exuberant which has contributed to a couple of wide-margin defeats of late.

His dosage index of 3.0 is very much one of a sprinter so he is defintely worth a try back at today's trip and a number of the horses he has competed against in a six-race career are now rated well in excess of 80, so a mark of 69 looks exploitable with Kieran Shoemark appearing an excellent booking.

Pontefract, 16.32 - Back Different Drum @ 7/18.00

It had been a long time between drinks for trainer Louise Allan before Different Drum ended a lean period with victory in a novices' handicap hurdle at Carlisle earlier this month.

That hard-fought success ended a sizeable period without joy for the Newmarket handler, but she could strike twice while the iron is hot with the son of Sea The Moon who returns to the south Yorkshire venue looking to win twice inside three weeks under different codes.

The five-year-old performed creditably on his previous course start, finishing fourth over a trip in excess of two miles there last summer after racing a little keenly through the formative stages.

The ability to drop his head and race kindly will arguably hold the key to Different Drum going close here as he tackles this marathon trip for the first time so a conservation of energy early on will prove vital.

However, he saw the trip out well at Carlisle last summer when beaten a head and in Paul Mulrennan he is a rider adept at putting keen-going horses to sleep in rear.

Wolverhampton, 18.00 - Back Shalaa Asker @ 7/24.50

Rob Hornby boasts an excellent strike rate aboard Shalaa Asker and the combination have bright prospects of landing this modest sprint handicap.

The eight-year-old enjoys smaller field handicaps and his record in fields of seven or less reads a highly respectable 6-16 which, for a 60-rated handicapper, is a commendable strike-rate.

Hornby partnered the selection to victory on his first three rides aboard Charlie Wallis' sprinter and although he was a well-beaten fifth on their fourth start together, racing on the far rail at Chelmsford (winner centre of the track) could have contributed to the reverse.

The duo were a little unlucky not to make it four from five when beaten a head by Betweenthesticks over course and distance at the Midlands venue earlier this month, trouble in running arguably costing them success that day.

Hopefully, the association produces another bold showing in this winnable affair and Wallis and Hornby can reprise their success with Fort Augustus at Southwell last week.

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