2.25pm Wolverhampton Tips & Betting Preview 25/03/2016

2.25pm Wolverhampton – bet365 Handicap Class Two – 1m 141yds

Three year old handicaps are notoriously tricky to solve, and early season ones all the more so, but it does look at the early stage as if two trainers are keenest starting with Richard Fahey who has three entered, headed in our view by Dolphin Vista who has some rock solid form in the book after a maiden win at York last October and a good second to Ebtihaal at Doncaster with the winner an English and Irish Derby entry. The son of Zoffany had to give him a pound that day which history may show was ridiculous, and if he improves from two to three as do most of the sire’s progeny then he could be well handicapped this afternoon.

Looking for improvers could be the key to success in this race and Richard Fahey has a trio headed on known form by Hutton who placed twice late last year and got off the mark at the third attempt last month at Southwell. Despite the different surface here he has run well before so we have no issues with that, and his mark of 75 looks about right as well, its just whether or not he can improve again in this tougher field.

Mark Johnston also wants to win it with nine of the early entries, and with three left in he also has to be a bit hopeful. Bathos would be perhaps his most interesting entry after the son of Poet’s Voice rattled up four in a row as a two year old, but we won’t know until this season just how much that took out of him. We can ignore his last run where he failed to see out nine furlongs on soft ground at Nottingham, and if we looks at his previously winning form, he was clearly going the right way and could possibly continue that improvement this season as well.

Just to make life that bit more difficult, the same trainer also runs Montsarrat here with Franny Norton expected to ride, and he is also a multiple winner worth keeping on the right side of. His earlier runs over seven furlongs were excellent with victories at Salisbury Catterick and Newmarket as well as a second spot behind Maccus at Goodwood though we are concerned that his only try so far at this mile trip saw his worst performance when only seventh of eight at Doncaster, though to be fair he was badly hampered. As a son of Poet’s Voice this trip could be stretching him but his connections will know more than us and if they think he gets the mile then he belongs on the “of interest” list at the very least.

One last dark horse to throw in to the mix for now, and London Protocol could be an interesting each way option. Trained by Karl Burke, who also has Southern Gailes in here, he has some pretty decent form including the third to Cymric at Sandown as well as a win at Deauville, and that may well make him well handicapped off of 88 (we would make it nearer 90), leaving with an excellent chance if fully fit.

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