Today's tips: Racing preview and best bets

Racing betting tips: Sunday April 28

1pt e.w. Silent Flame in 2.20 Bath at 16/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4)

1pt e.w. Quandary in 5.55 Southwell at 9/1 (Betfred 1/5 1,2,3,4)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

2:20 Bath

If there is one thing Mr Massey hates, it’s betting at Bath, which has not been kind in recent times, but 2024 will be different I promise, David! My issue at Bath is in persevering with the notion that high draws are underbet but that simply hasn’t been the case in the last couple of years, particularly on soft ground, and the bottom line is that while it’s possible to win from anywhere under certain conditions, there is a generic advantage to be drawn lower on the sprint track, and I’m going to stop fighting that.

Here’s a great test for the new regime - Sarah’s Verse is a horse we were with when winning here last time, and she has obvious claims on the softening ground, while we both noted Some Nightmare as a horse who will pop up at some stage this summer at a price. Both are drawn wide, though, and the bet at the morning odds is Rod Millman's reliable SILENT FLAME.

Reliable might not be everyone’s adjective of choice for Silent Flame, but while she looks inconsistent, she always performs under her ideal conditions, which are class 5 handicaps on turf at short of a mile. Her career record under such circumstances is an impressive 12211.

She was well beaten on her return to action at Wolverhampton, but given she’s never even been placed in six all-weather runs, that’s hardly a concern and was merely a pipe-opener. She ran equally poorly on her return last season before landing a heavy-ground handicap at Windsor on her second start, and she is taken to do the same today with conditions very much in her favour. The handicapper has been kind, dropping her 2lb for Wolverhampton and while this is her first run at Class 5 level since that Windsor success, she is now 5lb lower in the weights than for that win.

5:55 Southwell

It’s a Premier Raceday at David’s beloved Southwell today but finding bets is hard going without any 0-55’s on the card. The higher the quality, the harder they are to find...

However, we do like the chances of QUANDARY in the lucky last, the second division of the 7f handicap. Two efforts over 6f at Southwell have seen narrow defeats, and with a little bit more luck she’d be 2-2 at the track. The question of whether she’d want the extra furlong was answered in no uncertain terms at Lingfield last time when she was again narrowly been in a valuable handicap by the improving Irish filly Raknah, finishing off her race strongly for the silver medal.

That form looks rock-solid, with the ever-reliable Epsom Faithfull third and she was reversing the form with fourth-placed Cinque Verde, who was her narrow conqueror here at Southwell the time before. There’s a lot to like about her progressive profile and she holds an excellent chance of going one better today.

Posted at 0945 BST on 28/04/24

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