David Massey guides us through the day's racing on the eve of the Cheltenham Festival - he's got three recommended plays at Taunton.
Racing betting tips: Monday March 9
1pt win Midnight View in 15:10 Taunton at 9/1 (bet365, Unibet) - min 8/1
1pt win Kentucky River in 15:10 Taunton at 6/1 (General) - take no lower
1pt win Hard Stare in 16:10 Taunton at 13/2 (Unibet, 888Sport) - min 5/1
15:10 Taunton
A race in which a couple are asking to be backed at the prices. On the face of it, MIDNIGHT VIEW’s fourth to Rukaana at Windsor at the turn of the year was a little disappointing, but the form of that has worked out well, winner Rukaana only just touched off next time, and second home El Gavilan a three-time winner since; on top of that, both sixth-placed This Sway and seventh Delta Blues Belle have subsequently landed handicaps to give the form a bit of retrospective gloss.
Midnight View has been dropped a couple of pounds for that, which always helps, and he’s shown enough in the few starts he’s had to think he can win off his current mark. Connections have clearly been waiting for better ground, which he gets here, and improvement is now expected.
He was rated 101 after finishing fifth in a novice at Warwick exactly one year ago, and the pair he split that day have either won or been placed off higher marks since. Now 10lb lower after a poor start to the season, he is well handicapped if building on the promise of that Windsor run and while Matt Sheppard could be in better form, there are enough positives to take a chance on the son of Telescope here.
Of the others, KENTUCKY RIVER also appeals from a handicapping perspective and for the move to better ground. As a four-year-old, Olly Murphy’s gelding gets a 10lb WFA allowance and has been handicapped on form he’s shown on unsuitably soft ground to date over hurdles.
The switch to handicaps on better ground could see sharp improvement from a horse who was successful by seven lengths off a BHA mark of 74 on the Flat at Pontefract in August. That win suggests a jumps rating of 94 could be very lenient, particularly with his four-year-old allowance, and the application of cash could be the ultimate catalyst for sudden improvement.
16:10 Taunton
Anthony Honeyball has an excellent record with handicap debutants over hurdles (33-148 against a market expectation of 21 wins according to Proform, with a handsome profit of £1,157.50 to a tenner at Betfair SP) often following the tried-and-tested method of running a horse over an inadequate trip and then upping it markedly in distance once handicapping, and that’s the case again for HARD STARE.
Hard Stare showed more than enough ability in a couple of bumpers, and was clearly well regarded in that sphere, as he only went off a 7/1 chance for the valuable Goffs 100 Grand Bumper at Newbury on debut in which Kadastral, Talk The Talk and Klub De Reve filled the places; it’s fair to say that race hasn’t worked out too badly!
He’s been allowed to find his feet gradually since switching to hurdles, and has yet to show all he can do by any means. A half-brother to the useful Cleatus Poolaw, out of a mare who won three times at around 2½m, herself a half-sister to very useful chaser (Josh Gifford Memorial winner) Cocktails At Dawn, he is bred to stay well beyond 2m and should improve markedly on what he’s achieved to date.
His trainer also does very well with runners over C&D, registering 11 wins from just 28 runs at 3m here, for a profit of £765.80 to a tenner at BSP.
Preview posted at 09:15 GMT on 09/03/26
Click here for full Punting Pointers tipping record
Want to know more about horse welfare within our sport?
Recent winners
- Smurfette 5/2
- Shadowfax of Rohan 4/1
- Ferret Jeeter 4/1
- Magical Maggie 10/1
- Rodney 5/2
- Java Point 33/1
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
