3.40pm Bath Tips & Betting Preview 26/07/2017

Just the one running of this handicap so far and one that was taken by the odds on Dawn Horizons for William Haggas leaving favourite backers on top – so far. With just the six runners, each-way punters are stuck with first and second for pay out terms but it still looks an interesting contest and we have every runner covered in our race preview well ahead of the 3.40pm at Bath.

IN SUMMARY: PACHARANA just keeps going from strength to strength with her racing and loves nothing more than a battle which she wins more often than not. Luca Cumani has his horses in great form which ticks another box and with Kieran Showmarrk riding out of his skin, the pairing looks close to impossible to oppose.

1 STOCKHILL DIVA – Five wins from twenty-eight career starts for the seven-year-old mare, the last three of them over this sort of trip and the last two at Windsor. Put up to a rating of 87 after her last win she has since finished a well beaten sixth of nine in a Class Two handicap back at Windsor, beaten close to eight lengths at the line after being held up for the majority of the race and failing to quicken up when asked. Only dropped a pound for that she may well struggle again for trainer Brendan Powell and jockey Fran Berry, but she rarely runs two races alike, and could surprise for the places at least if on form again this afternoon.

2 PACHARANA – Luca Cumani’s filly has a quite superb record in handicaps with six wins from eleven starts including last time out when she saw off New World Power by a head at Brighton in a lower grade event. She was all out to hold on that day and has been put up a punitive three pounds for such a narrow victory, but she likes a battle and will make a bold attempt at winning her seventh race this afternoon. The stable are in excellent form with four winners from just the twelve runners in the last fourteen days (33%) for a seven point profit while jockey Kieran Shoemark has ridden eight winners from his last thirty-six mounts (22%) for a fourteen point profit, making the pairing a potent force and the filly a major contender.

3 MISS MINUTY – Her last win was over a mile and a quarter here in September 2015, and she has since moved stables from Alexandra Dunn and then on to Jeremy Scott. One run since saw her finish seventh of nine to Standing Rock at Salisbury over a mile and a quarter on her first run since November last year and she ought to improve for that effort and strip that bit more race fit now. She is dropping down the weights slowly and has two pounds less to carry here, but she is not guaranteed to be better at this trip with her best form over shorter, and others appeal an awful lot more for now.

4 SILVER LINK – Still a maiden after seven starts but four places in her last six runs suggest she has plenty of ability and the Marcus Tregoning trained three-year-old could go well here. Last time out, on her first run of the season she finished a length second to Zack Mayo at Wolverhampton in a mile and a half maiden looking a bit one paced, but she should do better with that run under her belt and cannot be ignored. Admittedly the stable are only ticking over with one winner from just the six runners in the last fortnight but if there is a surprise package here, the daughter of Arcano could well be the one to provide it.

5 SURE TO EXPLORE – Hard to gauge after just the two runs for a well beaten fourth at Leicester and a maiden win at Chepstow when she was driven out to win by half a length, with both runs over a mile and a half. The Willie Muir horses invariably keep on improving for their first few races at least, and with Martin Dwyer in the saddle she will make a bold attempt at a follow up, though the stable are none from nineteen in the last two weeks which has to be of some concern.

6 REALLY SUPER – Bottom weight here for Ralph Beckett’s filly who is looking for her first win here after six unsuccessful starts. She has placed in the first four home in all of those starts with a second in first-time blinkers at Epsom last time out in a mile and a half handicap. She looked one paced that day and has done better over further at Wetherby and may well find a few of these have too much speed for her over this trip.