There’s plenty to enjoy on Sky Sports Racing on Tuesday, with Bangor hosting the jumps action before Wolverhampton’s Flat card.
2.15 Bangor-on-Dee — Planters Punch returns
The exciting Planters Punch returns for the Weatherbys nhstallions.co.uk EBF Junior “National Hunt” Hurdle at Bangor, having been off the track since his Hereford win in early November. Nicky Henderson’s four-year-old is very lightly raced but that victory suggested real ability — he beat Aqua Bleu, who has since won three times. Aqua Bleu’s latest success came at the expense of Merci Mam, who is now rated 126.
Opposition includes the consistent Molly’s Lad for Fergal O’Brien, who has placed in three of his last four starts. The Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero partnership run Masterfield and Crack Ops, while Mistral St Georges (Georgina Nicholls) looked promising on hurdling debut but fell two out at Newbury and remains something of an unknown.
Also on racing news:
– Magnitude wins Dubai World Cup after Calandagan and Ombudsman triumph
– Channon’s Urban Lion edges out Rogue Diplomat in Lincoln thriller
6.00 Wolverhampton — Lizzana faces 10 rivals
The BetMGM Supports Safer Gambling Fillies’ Restricted Novice Stakes features the Marco Botti-trained Lizzana against ten rivals. Botti’s Saxon Warrior filly powered clear to win at Kempton recently and, though inexperienced, showed a turn of foot that suggests she has plenty of upside; another similar performance would make her hard to beat.
Ammoony chased home Touleen and Zanthos on debut; Zanthos subsequently won the Group Two Rockfel Stakes, underlining the quality of that form. Debutantes include Sayidah Aleen for Jack Channon, who enjoyed a strong Doncaster card on Saturday, and Ticker Tape for John and Thady Gosden’s Clarehaven stable.
7.30 Wolverhampton — Kolkata Knight and Simplify head the field
The Daily Profit Boosts At betmgm.co.uk Handicap brings together previous winners Kolkata Knight and Simplify. Tom Dascombe’s freshly gelded Kolkata Knight won at Haydock last September — his second success from five starts — and showed useful juvenile form, including when behind Gstaad at Royal Ascot. If he has strengthened over the winter he should progress from two to three following his gelding.
Simplify ran four times as a juvenile, winning her final start at Thirsk in September for Andrew Balding and is expected to improve beyond her current rating. James Tate’s Dark Angel Star finished strongly when runner-up at Chelmsford in October and could be competitive on reappearance.