3.10pm Wolverhampton Tips & Betting Preview 10/01/2017

£2,911 is up for grabs for the winner of the third race of the day on the all weather at Wolverhampton, a marathon handicap. See our betting tips and the full race preview below.

IN SUMMARY: Ominotago won emphatically on her latest start at Southwell and has a good chance of going in again under a penalty but preference is for the interesting START SEVEN. Not seen for 186 days, he showed promise on the All Weather in earlier starts and although his latest two starts were poor, they were posted on the turf and a return to the All Weather should suit. He’s joined the inform Jamie Osborne yard and if ready to roll for his comeback a mark of 67 doesn’t look an excessive one. Monna Valley is another likely to threaten now upped in trip with Aaron Jones claiming 3lb.

1 OMINOTAGO – Emphatically dismissed a small field maiden at Southwell last week (1m 3f, Std) and returns to handicap company under a penalty. Conditions are fine today with the step back up in trip likely to improve her further; she also has run well at Wolverhampton in the past off this mark of 66. She should run a big race for the inform Michael Appleby yard who have had 4 winners from their past 31 runners, but she does need to prove she can do it against the boys as her last two runs have come in mare’s races.

2 EURATO – Won easily on his penultimate start at Chelmsford in June (1m 6f, Std) but returned two weeks later with a poor effort over today’s trip at the same venue and hasn’t been seen since. Has something to prove on his first start for 208 days and he is currently 9lb higher than for his latest win, which could be difficult to overcome. He is however a C&D winner and has the inform Martin Harley on board (4-13 in the past two weeks) to help do the steering, so with conditions to suit he has to be considered for the placings.

3 START SEVEN – Lightly raced 5 year old who hasn’t been seen since two poor efforts on the turf in the summer, and has since moved to Jamie Osborne from Joesph Tuite. Previous to his turf runs he had shown promise on his on his weather runs including a good 2nd at Lingfield back in February (1m 4f, Std) in a maiden, and an effort comparable to that off 67 today would make him a big player. He does have a 186 day absence to overcome but the Jamie Osborne yard are in good form at present with a record of 3-9 in the past two weeks and has brilliant jockey Adam Kirby on board (7-30 in the past two weeks) to do the steering, so has to be respected today.

4 MAHICAN – Joins another new yard today (Jennie Candlish) and has a 515 absence to overcome since a poor spell with Denis Quinn in the summer of 2015. Although he has some good form in the book in the context of this race, that was all the way back in 2013 and he has shown nothing of note since, so it is almost impossible to recommend him today despite being 13lb below his last winning mark.

5 MARSHALL AID – 0-11 but ran with credit in a higher grade when finishing a close 6th at Lingfield a few weeks ago (1m 7f, Std), and drops back into Class 5 company today. Dropped another 1lb for that display and he is certainly one of the more interesting runners in the race, with him being a lightly raced 4 year old. He does need to show some further progression to take this race but conditions are fine today and the drop back in trip looks likely to suit better than his last run, so he has to be considered for placings.

6 BLUE TOP – Won twice last summer at Bath over the 1m 3f trip off 10lb lower than today’s mark and was well held on return over hurdles in December (2m, Soft). Has a record of 0-4 on the All Weather with his runs far from convincing and both his wins came in Class 6 company, and he is yet to win in any class other than Class 6 so far in his career. Very capable claimer Hollie Doyle takes off a handy 5lb but it is hard to see him getting involved and is best watched on his first flat start for 6 months.

7 MONNA VALLEY – Two solid efforts in Class 6 company the last twice, finishing a close 4th over slightly shorter here in December (1m 4f, Std). This step up in trip looks likely to suit due to the way he has been unable to quicken on his latest start and has Aaron Jones taking off a useful 3lb to further aide his cause. Stuart Williams is struggling for winners of late with a record of 0-10 for the past two weeks but being 3lb higher than his last winning mark doesn’t look like a mountain too high for this 5 year old and he has to be respected today.

8 MAMOO – Still a maiden after 12 attempts but did have excuses on his latest start at Lingfield when trying two miles for the first time and cheekpieces are reapplied for today’s run. Today’s trip seems about right for him on previous evidence and this 4 year old should still have improvement left in him, especially as his pedigree suggests he can do better yet. Could be a very dangerous Each Way angle into the race as the step up into Class 5 company isn’t a concern as he has placed twice in this company in the past.