Our man looks ahead to Friday's action and picks out a couple of big-priced fancies on the cards at Exeter and Keeneland.
Value Bet tips: Friday November 4
1pt win Masters Legacy in 3.00 Exeter at 9/1 (General)
1pt e.w. Be Your Best in 8.20 Keeneland at 18/1 (Sky Bet, William Hill 1/5 1,2,3,4,5)
Lucki the one to beat in Exeter feature
Some classy jumpers are on show across ITV4’s Exeter and Down Royal coverage, before attentions turn to Future Stars Friday at the Breeders’ Cup, but attractive betting races are unsurprisingly at a premium.
The Betway Haldon Gold Cup certainly isn’t one of them, though anyone happy to be playing just shy of the 2/1 mark in a five-runner race of this nature could do a lot worse than Third Time Lucki, who will find the unseasonably dry ground (rain hasn't altered much according to latest reports) far more to his liking than War Lord, who loves deeper conditions and promises to want a bit further this time around anyway.
Greaneteen is the fly in the ointment, though, as while the Tingle Creek is obviously his big early-season target, Paul Nicholls probably hasn’t left an awful lot to work on fitness-wise, and he’s going to enjoy the conditions as well.
Granted, Greaneteen was a well-held fourth off the same mark (168, good to soft) here last year, but he did win it first time out on good ground in 2020 and his presence is enough to put me off getting stuck into the Skelton horse, who has a wicked turn of foot when on song.
Legacy to leave comeback run behind
The previous race on the card – namely the Betway ‘Challenger’ Stayers’ Handicap Chase – has been won three times by Philip Hobbs in the past decade, and he looks to have another intriguing runner this year in MASTERS LEGACY on his debut over fences.
He’s an all-or-nothing sort of character and was more miss than hit towards the end of last season, but it had started brightly enough, winning at Chepstow’s opening meeting in October before a gallant second, when splitting Earlsofthecotswolds and Annsam, having been stepped up to two and a half miles at Newbury.
He lost his form a little thereafter and the tongue-tie didn’t work at Cheltenham in January (dispensed with on his final run at Kempton in March), but a summer breathing operation may have triggered something positive based on his comeback run over timber back at Chepstow a little under a month ago.
Granted, he was beaten just over 10 lengths on the day but the Silver Trophy won by Knappers Hill already has the look of a very hot race (subsequent wins for runner-up Lord Baddesley and seventh Proschema), and Masters Legacy was staying on reasonably well having looked tapped for toe turning in.
The switch all the way up to three miles for his chasing debut appears overdue in all honesty and, having been dropped 2lb to a career-low mark of 130 on the back of his reappearance outing, he makes more than enough appeal at the odds on his second start after the wind op.
Best of the best on Future Stars Friday
Several high-profile European-trained two-year-olds have made the trip for the opening Breeders’ Cup card but it’s worth remembering the raiders drew a Friday blank when the meeting was last held at Keeneland in 2020.
It might take something out of the ordinary to prevent Silver Knott setting that record straight in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, but I’d be far less inclined to weigh in with The Platinum Queen, who will find herself with a mountain to climb from stall 12 unless she can absolutely fly from the gates in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
There are loads of fast horses down on her inside and few of them can be ruled out completely so I'll swerve the race entirely and have a bet against Meditate, who steps up to a mile from six furlongs in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.
It’s not that Aidan O’Brien’s horse won’t be staying this far in time but she’s also been on the go since April 10 when winning her maiden at the Curragh, and there are some fresher legs in here I fancy could pose the favourite some problems.
Delight arguably has the best form from the home team after winning the Jessamine impressively here last month, but I’m willing to give another chance to BE YOUR BEST, who was only third when sent off a hot favourite to beat reopposing pair Pleasant Passage and Free Look in the Miss Grillo.
Be Your Best, unbeaten in a couple of Saratoga starts before the last run at Aqueduct, was drawn on the wide outside and immediately damaged her claims when veering slightly to the right on leaving the stalls.
Meanwhile, Pleasant Passage set some relatively sedate early fractions out in front, ultimately holding Free Look at bay with a degree of comfort, but Be Your Best was far from disgraced just under three lengths further back given she raced three-wide around the turns as well as that awkward start.
Jose Ortiz wasn’t hard on her when it was clear she wasn’t getting to the front pair, who dictated the tempo throughout, and she’s far more handily drawn on this occasion, directly outside her two old rivals in stall six.
The British and Irish runners are all out wider on the course so will obviously need things to pan out nicely to take a hand and, at the prices, Muhaarar filly Be Your Best looks to be a little underestimated for up-and-coming east coast trainer Horacio De Paz, provided she is more streetwise when the bell sounds this time.
Published at 1500 GMT on 03/11/22
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