3.45pm York Tips & Betting Preview 08/10/2016

Nine runnings of this race have seen just the two favourites and winners at odds up to 14/1 while trainers Michael Dods and Richard Fahey have won it twice each in that period and common sense suggests we start our race preview with that information. As things stand it appears that the Dods yard will be represented by Get Knotted (10/1) who will be ridden this afternoon by Paul Mulrennan who has ridden him twelve times now and ought to know the horse inside out. In a career of twenty-one starts he has won over six seven and eight furlongs (or a mile), though not off a rating as high as he is stuck with this afternoon. He has already had a great season with two wins and five places already, including a second over this trip at Ayr last time out. Up two pounds now he will need a career best but as his trainer clearly knows exactly what is needed he could still run well at a decent each way price.

As things stand we prefer the each way chances of Red Pike (22/1 Each Way), Bryan Smart’s five-year-old gelding who has now won five of his twenty-seven career starts, a good record for a sprint handicapper. Interestingly, his last win was off the same rating of 95 that he has to deal with this afternoon all be it back in August last year, but he has been slowly dropping down the ratings to a winning mark again and has a much better chance than his big price suggests this afternoon.

A whole Saturday card without a mention of Richard Fahey ought to be illegal so we won’t risk it and will mention Mayfair Lady (18/1) who seems sure to be ridden by Adam McNamara who will take a useful five pounds off her back. Only a three-year-old, she has won three of her eleven starts at up to this level and only really failed when tried in Listed or better class, and dropping slowly down the weights (one pound less today after her recent fourth), she could be well weighted after her jockey’s claim and has each way chances written all over her today.

It may seem obvious to say that Roudee (12/1) ought to be running at Chester and he does race there more often than anywhere else as you would expect, but better still he arrives here in red-hot form after wins at Ripon and Ayr over this trip and in this class which has to be a good thing. Up another four pounds for his last success he is another who will need a career best this afternoon off a mark of 101 but he seems to be improving for trainer Tom Dascombe and could go well again at a decent price.

Rounding off our early race preview and Hoof It (16/1) may be getting on a bit at the age of nine but he refuses to go off to retirement and continues to run well. His last four runs have seen him twice and place in the other two including a third last time out at Ayr, though as he has own off a rating of 111 the 100 today will feel like a light weight. Add on Nathan Evans who is a very decent jockey for his five-pound claim (and better still, has won on the son of Monsieur Bond), and he simply cannot be written off, though expecting him to get back to his old form may be asking that bit too much at his age.