Monday's UK placepots can be played via Tix at Hereford, Kempton, Musselburgh, Windsor & Wolverhampton.
But, what is Tix?
A video explainer can be found here.
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A few more pointers can be found in these articles:
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/exotic-betting-multi-race-bets-part-1/
https://www.geegeez.co.uk/exotic-betting-multi-race-bets-part-2/
Today's pools
Today's UK meetings, pools and minimum guarantees are as follows...
The largest pot is at Wolverhampton where the tapeta is said to standard for...
Leg 1 @ 4.25, an 11-runner, Class 6, 3yo+ handicap over 5f...
No LTO winners here, but fast finisher Lets Go Hugo and Phoenix Beach were both runners-up and the latter has finished 332 in his last three starts (all here at Wolverhampton). Blue Force was third last time out and has a win and two places from his last four, as does Aces Wild who drops in class here.
Of those four, only Blue Force has yet to win over 5f here at Wolverhampton, although he did so at Newcastle a month ago. Betweenthesticks and class-dropper Maharajas Express are also former course and distance winners and all six runners named so far show well on Instant Expert...
...with Aces Wild, Let's Go Hugo & Phoenix Beach the eye-catchers from that. This drawn lower have fared better over this track and trip in the past, but as with most 5f races, pace is key. Symbol of Hope is the most likely from-runner today, but of my shortlisted six, the head of the pace ratings looks like this...
...and with pace having with the same top three as Instant Expert, I have to side with (1) Aces Wild, (4) Let's Go Hugo & (5) Phoenix Beach
Leg 2 @ 5.00, an 8-runner, Class 3, 2yo novice stakes over 5f...
Binadham is the only former winner in the field and is top rated at 91. He won a Class 5 maiden on debut at Yarmouth in June and backed that up with a creditable 6th of 13 in an Ascot Group 2 race in June. Since then, he has been well beaten at both Gr 2 and Listed class and now drops back to Class 3. Bonnies Boy was a runner-up in each of his first three starts (beaten narrowly in races 2 & 3) before finding a Class 2 handicap a little warm for him next/last time out and he also drops in class here.
Colocolo has made the frame twice in his four starts, Veblen Good was a runner-up on debut at Sandown a month ago and Lucid was also an LTO runner-up, beaten at Kempton but hasn't raced for 166 days now. Optimistic and Queenofdestruction have yet to race and the latter is the bottom weight here and was also a £100k purchase at the Breeze-Up.
Colocolo and Bonnies Boy have both led/raced prominently in their last two starts which is a positive over 5f here at Wolverhampton and of those two I prefer (2) Bonnies Boy. There was much to like about (6) Veblen Good's debut and with these stats behind her...
...I'd be inclined to go with debutante (8) Queenofdestruction at the expense of recently-disappointing Binadham.
Leg 3 @ 5.30, a 10-runner, Class 5, 3yo handicap over 6f...
Mesaafi has made the frame in four of his last six, Glitterella has been runner-up in two of her last three and handicap debutant Borealis Thunder has been third in two of her three career starts, but the field is short on wins, although Rusheen Boy did go 112 in December/January prior to three modest efforts (506) more recently and he steps up in class here. Ziggy's Queen is down three classes today and Pals Battalion & State of Madness also both drop in class.
The consistent (2) Mesaafi is a fairly easy pick in a fairly open race and I think (6) Pals Battalion might just be the best of the rest. He's also pretty consistent and as ever, his yard/jockey are going well...
As for the rest, you can make a case for and against all of them, but I think that dropping three classes here might just tip things towards (3) Ziggys Queen.
Leg 4 @ 6.00, an 11-runner, Class 5, 3yo+ handicap over 7f...
Vaunted won at Bath last time out and drops three classes here. She's noted as a fast finisher and has finished 231U31 in her last six outings. Sonmarg doesn't win often but has been the runner-up in four of her last seven and also finished third in one of them, so he's a consitent placer.
Em Jay Kay won three starts ago, Novak and Snooze Lane both finished third last time out, whilst Buttercross Flyer and A Pint of Bear were runners-up over course and distance, the latter by just a short head.
(2) Sonmarg has got the low draw that seems favoured here and Instant Expert highlights his consistency...
...so I'll be adding him to my Tix ticket builder along with (5) Novak on that evidence above. Elsewhere, I like that recent near-miss by (12) A Pint of Bear over this track/trip, but also the recent form of (10) Vaunted. The latter represents more of a gamble, as she has very little A/W experience and all her best work has been at 5f/5½f, so she misses out here and I Hope it's not a decision that comes back to bite me.
Leg 5 @ 6.30, an 8-runner, Class 6, 3yo+ handicap over 2m½f...
My initial thoughts here were that this could well be a two-horse race between the six year old mares Baileys Warrior and Addosh with the other six runners scrapping for the £699 third prize
Addosh proved her stamina in a runner-up finish over 2m1f in a handicap hurdle at Newton Abbot last month when only beaten by a neck, whilst Baileys Warrior won over this track and trip three weeks ago for a second win in her last twelve outings. That doesn't sound prolific, but in the ten races she failed to win, she was a runner-up five times and finished third once, so she has made the frame in 66.6% of her last dozen races.
This level of consistency is highlighted by Instant Expert, which also suggests that Easy Equation might be the best of the rest...
The truth is that I can't see both (1) Addosh and (2) Baileys Warrior failing to make the frame, so I won't add a third pick, but I might well have a cheeky E/W punt on Easy Equation who looks quite long to me at a generally available 25/1. After all, this approach worked well for me on Saturday with 40/1 shot Bowman.
Leg 6 @ 7.00, a 12-runner, Class 6, 3yo+ handicap over 1m½f...
We end with another very open-looking race bereft of recent winners, although Rubellite and Kenstone come here after being runners-up last time out and despite being 11 yrs old, the latter is still running pretty well at this level, making the frame in six of eleven starts over the last year.
Fitz Perfectly was third last time out and Olympic Quest is a former course and distance winner. She has struggled of late with three heavy defeats at Bath in her last four starts, but was only beaten by 2 lengths over today's track and trip three starts ago and might relish a return to the Tapeta, having won here six back in January off 2lbs higher than today.
Over the last two years, Van Zant, Port Noir, Forever Proud, Rubellite and Kenstone set the standard on the A/W, although Port Noir's number are marred by a series of unplaced efforts over shorter trips here at Wolverhampton...
...and with (3) Van Zant also a confirmed front-runner...
...he has to go on my tickets. The manner of (8) Rubellite's runner-up finish at Newcastle suggests that she could go well here too. He won here over 1m1½f at the turn of the year and looks like coming back into form after a recent switch to a more prominent running style. Forever Proud is the likely favourite here today, but she lacks consistency and the results say she has only really run well over 1m2f at Lingfield. This is a shorter trip on a different surface, so I think I'll stick with the consistent old-timer (9) Kenstone for this one.
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All of which gives me...
Leg 1: (1) Aces Wild, (4) Let's Go Hugo & (5) Phoenix Beach
Leg 2: (2) Bonnies Boy, (6) Veblen Good & (8) Queenofdestruction
Leg 3: (2) Mesaafi, (3) Ziggys Queen & (6) Pals Battalion
Leg 4: (2) Sonmarg, (5) Novak & (12) A Pint of Bear
Leg 5: (1) Addosh & (2) Baileys Warrior
Leg 6: (3) Van Zant, (8) Rubellite & (9) Kenstone
...and here's how I'd play them, whilst trying to stay close to a nominal £20 total stake...
Good Luck!
Chris