The sight of Delegator sprinting clear of good horses in Thursday’s Craven Stakes was an enjoyable one if you availed yourself of a bit of 20/1 just a week ago, and readers of this column will rightly be happily anticipating Saturday 2nd May when antepost vouchers for both Mastercraftsman and Delegator go on trial in the 2000 Guineas. Happy days.

Of more immediate concern is this weekend, and with plenty of important business still to be swept up over the sticks, plus increasing momentum for the Flat campaign, there are some decent opportunities.

Nicky Henderson (8 winners & a 22% strike rate over the last fortnight) has enjoyed a fantastic campaign – not least a mountain of winners plus a stellar first and third in the Champion Hurdle, and I’ll be entrusting a few quid to the talents of the master of Seven Barrows as he sends Pepsyrock north of the border to take in Ayr’s Albert Bartlett & Sons Handicap Chase at 4.35pm.

It took a couple of runs for the penny to drop for the six year old French import, but successive wins at Sandown and Newbury marked him down as horse to follow, and he looks like he could well continue his rate of improvement against some thoroughly exposed types who’ve got few secrets from the handicapper.

Fair enough he did get turned over at Kempton last time, but you can make excuses in that he was trying to give lumps of weight away, and more importantly I believe he’d have won despite the weight if the race had been at his preferred trip of two miles.

Even then a clean jump at the last would have probably been enough, and it’s interesting the handicapper responded by sticking him up a pound for being beaten.

Racing with a feather weight in a better race should see him to better effect, and dropping back in trip I expect him to win in the hands of Barry Geraghty.

I’ll be looking forward to getting involved with a couple down at Newbury, and in the absence Sir Michael Stoute’s Spanish Moon in the John Porter Stakes at 2.05pm it’s last year’s winner Royal And Regal who’ll be carrying my cash. 

The rain falling here in Newbury last night is right up his street, and having been gelded since we last saw him in action we can fully expect our selection to be well wound up for this.

Lastly, don’t miss the Newbury’s Fred Darling Stakes at 3.10pm. A few unknown quantities in here, and some tall reputations on the line in this recognised 1000 Guineas trial.

Michael Bell’s Sariska could be the one to solve the puzzle – she’s been subject to some interesting support for the Newmarket Classic, supported into a current best price of 16/1, and gave punters plenty of encouragement on her only two year old racecourse outing, winnng a Newmarket maiden which has produced a couple of subsequent winners.

Bell reckons she could be something special, so take an each way interest for tomorrow’s assignment.

Good luck

Saturday’s tips:

7 Pepsyrock 4.35 Ayr (win)

3 Royal And Regal 2.05 Newbury (win)

14 Sariska 3.10 Newbury (each way)

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