- Our man tipped Grand National winner Noble Yeats at 50/1 to help take his 2022 tally to +110 points to recommended stakes so far in 2022
- He also recommended 11/1 Newmarket winner Living Legend last Friday and tipped 2000 Guineas winner Coroebus in his Antepost Value Bet column
Value Bet tips: Friday May 6
1pt win Seasett in 1.30 Chester at 9/1 (General)
1pt e.w. Haliphon in 3.15 Chester at 20/1 (General 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
Already advised:
Supplement Cup position with 20/1 chance
Having identified Solent Gateway as the one to be on ahead of Friday’s Tote+ Chester Cup Handicap late last month, it was obviously a relief to see the horse quite comfortably make the cut for Friday’s May meeting feature.
The case for him winning still very much stands and without wanting to repeat anything from the long-range preview it is worth adding that the midweek easing of the ground seems unlikely to inconvenience the son of Awtaad from what we’ve seen of him already.
Granted, he signed off last term with a complete no-show in the Newbury mud (heavy) and he was withdrawn once at Haydock on account of awful conditions, but it won’t be anything like that come Friday afternoon following what promise to be a couple of dry days at Chester.
Solent Gateway has won and run very well in defeat on good to soft anyway and with the step back up in trip (has won here over the bare two miles) around a turning track looking just what was required in light of his Epsom reappearance run, the horse’s form claims are obvious before even factoring in that this is most likely ‘his Gold Cup’ given the connections.
Seeing as the 10/1 has swiftly become 9/2 I’m obviously more inclined to look elsewhere following final declarations – and the withdrawal of Metier as well as Nate The Great – and a small each-way interest on HALIPHON appeals as the way to go.
One of four in the race for trainer Ian Williams, he’s technically the worst off in the entire field due to the fact he’s going to be running off 2lb lower in future handicaps, but he’s also the one Williams runner open to a good bit of improvement having only joined his current stable during the winter.
He arrived from France where he’d won a couple of handicaps at Chantilly and Compiegne over shorter trips, but he’s not looked out of place in decent races at Musselburgh (1m6f) and Ripon (2m) on his two most recent starts, having debuted for the yard over a mile and a half on the all-weather at Lingfield.
The Musselburgh effort behind stablemate and runaway winner Enemy was particularly eyecatching as he was really getting rolling when switched to the far rail inside the final furlong, while he travelled strongly for a long way behind reopposing Rajinsky at Ripon but found himself too far back and was ultimately outsprinted when the tempo increased.
That Ripon race has a good record of producing the Chester Cup winner (Making Miracles in 2019 and Trip To Paris in 2015, as well as 2014 Chester runner-up Angel Gabrial) and I just can’t let this one go unbacked given Williams’ brilliant record in staying handicaps, particularly with French imports.
Sea to sweep home under Spencer
Earlier on, I’ll take a chance on Jamie Spencer working his magic from stall nine aboard SEASETT in the ECM Stellar Sports Earl Grosvenor Handicap.
This horse was probably a considerable source of frustration for Richard Fahey but he’s always had a touch of class, highlighted by his second in last year’s Silver Bowl at Haydock, when splitting Raadobarg and Teodolina.
A change of yard this term looks to have perked him right back up again based on last month’s Nottingham defeat of the reopposing Fame And Acclaim, and it was interesting to hear current trainer Charlie Fellowes state post-race that he feels the son Wootton Basset may be getting quicker as he’s getting older.
The Nottingham race over an extended mile represented a cut back from 10 furlongs and he’s racing over a really sharp seven and a half here which will ask a new question again – as will the revised rating of 88 – but if Spencer can find some sort of position early on (the pace horses are all drawn down on the inside) I suspect nothing will be finishing with quite as much purpose, and reckon as a thriving four-year-old he's being underestimated in the market.
Elsewhere, I’m in no mood to take on Mujtaba and Brentford Hope in the Deepbridge Handicap and can happily sit back and watch the two conditions races on the ITV4 programme, although would just prefer three-year-old Flaming Rib to King’s Lynn at the prices in the Boodles Secret Garden Conditions Stakes.
Published at 1545 BST on 05/05/22
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