David Massey is back with two bets across today's meetings including at Epsom.
Racing betting tips: Tuesday April 28
0.5pts e.w King Sharja in the 14:20 Southwell at 12/1 (1/5 1,2,3,4 General, min 9/1)
0.5pts e.w Pearl River in the 14:40 Epsom at 25/1 (General, take no lower)
14:40 Epsom – Betfred Blue Riband Trial (Listed) 1m2f17y
New Zealand improved in Group races over a mile at the back end of last season despite not being seen to best effect and on form is hard to oppose in calmer waters on his return, but the paddock-watchers say he’s quite a heavy-topped sort, and whether he will handle Epsom is a question in our minds. He’s been very weak in the betting overnight, too. Despite there only being six runners, there might be an each-way angle, then, and PEARL RIVER looks much too big in that regard.
Pearl River beat Dunkeld Dreamer on his most recent start, a nursery at Nottingham in October when giving her 3lb (ignoring jockey claims) and Dunkeld Dreamer won a handicap at Haydock at the weekend to bolster that form. Although by Cotai Glory, Pearl River is out of a Sinndar half-sister to very smart 9f/1¼m winner Sageburg and needed ten furlongs to get his head in front as a juvenile, suggesting he would be seen to better effect at three. He is proven at the trip and his stable has no shortage of contenders for minor Classic trials, so his presence in the field is encouraging.
15:15 Epsom - Lilley Plummer Risks City & Suburban Handicap 1m2f17y
Roger Varian has won the City & Suburban twice in the last decade and his mentor, Michael Jarvis, won the race with Alainmaar in 2010, the final year he held a licence. It’s clearly a race the Master of Carlburg Stables likes to aim at, and he has a decent chance of hitting the target again with Sallaal, a half-brother to Benbatl who won two of his five starts as a three-year-old, including on his only foray into handicaps. That handicap win came on the undulations of Hamilton Park and suggests that the son of Frankel will have no issue with the idiosyncrasies of Epsom.
Sallaal disappointed on his final start in soft ground at Leopardstown but his previous third to Cicero’s Gift in the Fortune Stakes at Sandown looks better in the light of the winner’s success in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot in October. His Hamilton win came when beating English Oak who has won two handicaps since in Meydan, the latter from a mark 3lb higher than at Hamilton, making Sallaal – who beat him two lengths from the same mark - look fairly treated here having gone up 5lb in total. He was too free on his final start and wears a hood again on this return, but should be more tractable here and may progress again as a four-year-old given his lightly raced profile.
14:20 Southwell - 7f Handicap
KING SHARJA kicked off last season with a neck second over this C&D and followed that up by then winning here a month later, so doesn’t take much getting ready and the fact he’s been brought back here for his seasonal debut rather than elsewhere looks fairly significant.
He was, perhaps, a few pounds too high in the handicap after that but once back down to something workable, got his head in front again at Beverley later in the year, and starts this season off a pound lower than last year, so he’s every chance from a handicapping point of view. Joanna Mason gets on well with him, indeed she was on board first time up last year (and also for the Beverley win) so there are plenty of positive pointers to his chance today.
16:35 Southwell - 2m½f Handicap
Some old low-grade favourites line up for the staying contest, and I’m leaning towards giving John Butler’s Payment Plan another chance despite a very moderate effort here last time out.
Well beaten here at the start of the month, that run came after 328 days away from the track and was probably needed more than I thought it was going to be. With that under his belt, he ought to strip fitter here, and he drops from 0-65 to 0-55 company, and he was able to win three times in this grade last year, including twice over C&D.
The booking of David Probert looks significant too, 6-25 for the yard overall and showing a level stakes profit. He rode Victory Ace to success for Butler recently and can hopefully get Payment Plan home in front for the yard today.
Preview posted at 09:40 BST on 28/04/26
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