3.45pm York Tips & Betting Preview 13/06/2015

Race Time: 3.45pm Meeting: York Distance: 6f
Full Race Name: 888Sport Charity Sprint (Handicap Stakes)

Free Tip: Burnt Sugar at 33/1 EW 

One more awesomely competitive sprint handicap to go for the televised races this Saturday and it’s just about as easy to solve as all the others! One in form horse is in the line up in the shape of Henry Candy’s Twilight Son (4/1) who has had three career starts and won them all. A maiden win at Salisbury was followed by a minor handicap win at Thirsk before the son of Kyllachy was put away for the winter to mature and strengthen. His reappearance at Newmarket in a Class Two handicap was a revelation as he pulled clear for a comfortable two-length success, though the fact he was sent off at odds of 11/10 suggest it was hardly unexpected. Sadly, since then the Candy yard have been struggling a bit (one winner from just fourteen runners in the past two weeks), which may not stop him winning, but does at least make us question his price?

Dangers are around every corner in a race like this and none more so on paper at least than Martyn Meade’s Scalzo (10/3) who has had the two runs this season – and won them both, by four and a half lengths and seven lengths respectively. That is impressive reading for obvious reasons but I doubt connections were too happy with the last winning distance as he has been put up eighteen pounds as his “punishment’ so will need to improve again to get involved here, but after just the three races total there is every reason to believe that is at least a decent possibility.

As you may have noticed, we are quite taken with the trainer jockey combination of Mark Johnston and Silvestre De Sousa and they are represented here by bottom weight Indescribable (14/1) who is our idea of some decent each way value in the contest.  He won with a little bit in hand last time out at York (after being struck on the head by the runner up’s whip as well!), and may have finally got the hang of what is required after his twelve races and three wins with that perhaps his best performance. He looks as though he will appreciate the sixth furlong here and clearly gets on well with the Brazilian jockey who cajoled the win out of him last time, and he looks mightily difficult to keep out of the frame off of eight stone four today– assuming he is in a good mood again this afternoon of course.

Those looking for an outsider or two to at least consider may want to take note that Richard Hannon tries first time blinkers on Burnt Sugar (33/1) which may well wake him up and bring about the needed improvement. He has generally been trying longer trips and much much better company (up to Group One level), and on his best form he would be a shoe in here even at these weights. Fact is he has failed to produce that form in recent races but if the blinkers work we have our winner without any doubt – a chance we feel may be worth taking at the prices here.

Lastly, write off Magical Memory (10/1) at your own risk – as mentioned elsewhere the Charlie Hills horses can be very well handicapped after a poor start to the season and the son of Zebedee could well be on that list as witnessed by an easy win at Leicester last time out – making for a tricky race to end the day with!