2.10pm Market Rasen Tips & Betting Preview 22/07/2017

Ten go to post for this Listed handicap hurdle. Read on for our runner by runner preview and expert tip for the 2.10pm at Market Rasen live on ITV Racing.

IN SUMMARY: The majority here arrive in good form, but a number may be high enough in the weights for now following their recent wins. Mad Jack Mytton was impressive last time but he is not one to trust implicitly to produce a similar display. Ebony Express defied a long break to win last time but the bounce factor is always a concern on the second run back. RED TORNADO won this contest last year, reunited with Harry Skelton for the first time since here. He has been behind some of these of late, but back at a track he clearly likes, he looks a rock solid each way option down in the weights.

1 JOHN CONSTABLE – Well backed on Grand National day, he was just starting to fight a losing battle when coming down at the last. He showed markedly better form when landing the Swinton last time out, his winning margin enhanced by a last flight faller. He was always well in control on that occasion, his strong travelling style an asset at this sharp track as well. A sixteen pound hike for that win is going to demand plenty more of him through.

2 ROSSETTI – 9/13 when completing the course over hurdles in his career. He has been smartly campaigned by Neil Mulholland, picking up relatively weak races for the grade at Warwick and Stratford this season before soundly beaten at Uttoxeter. He was well behind Ebony Express there and despite an eleven pound swing at the weights (if including Harry Reed’s claim) it’s hard to think he’s up to winning this.

3 MAD JACK MYTTON – Not the most consistent, he was winning for the first time in twenty-six months when beating Curious Carlos at Aintree last time. A sharp two miles is perfect for him so there will be no problems about the track, nor the underfoot conditions. A six pound rise for that win is fair, but given his previous form, he is no good thing to follow one smart run with another.

4 CURIOUS CARLOS – Despite the margin being less than three lengths, the ease with which he was beaten by Mad Jack Mytton at Aintree was considerably more. He has been pushed up three pounds by the handicapper for that effort, now a pound above his highest ever winning mark. It may not stop him from running his usual honest race, but he looks an unlikely winner.

5 KAPSTADT – Wasn’t beaten far in the Old Newton Cup last time out in a bid to follow up a ten furlong Newmarket win. Decent ground suits him perfectly, with that flat win coming off 89. The usual calculation of +45 for a jumps mark suggests that he could win from 134 over hurdles, so despite the fact he has been beaten the last thrice in this discipline from 135, this mark of 132 may yet be workable.

6 RED TORNADO – Winner of this contest last season from a one pound lower mark, it would be no surprise if this race had been earmarked for a long time. He ran poorly the last twice behind Rossetti, but he was held up much further off the pace than when successful. Reunited with Harry Skelton (4/5 on the horse) for the first time since winning this race, much better looks likely and he gets the vote at an each way price.

7 MYSTIC SKY – Everything fell right for her last time when bolting up at Southwell. That was a considerably weaker race than this contest, with an eleven pound punishment from the assessor for that fourteen length victory making this look a tough task for her. She has won and finished a three quarter length second on her two starts over this course and distance so supporters can at least take some hope that she likes the track.

8 EBONY EXPRESS – Sprung a 33/1 shock when beating Rayvin Black in the 2015 Imperial Cup, spending a long time in the wilderness since. He shrugged off a near sixteen month absence to win at Uttoxeter last time, beating Rossetti. He is still on a mark five pounds lower than his Imperial Cup win, so as long as this doesn’t come too quick, he deserves plenty of consideration.

9 STAR FOOT – Boasts a 3/4 record at this track, including winning here the last twice. Trainer Jo Davis sounds as if better form could be on the horizon after his last win “He’s come on a lot now he’s learned to jump hurdles properly” but the loss of Tom O’Brien (3/3 on him) and this deeper race mean he is passed over.

10 NUCKY THOMPSON – Picked up a weak maiden hurdle at Warwick last season before set impossible tasks at both the Cheltenham and Aintree Festivals. This mark still looks on the high side and from two pounds out the handicap, he would be a surprise winner.