5.15pm Chelmsford Tips & Betting Preview 01/12/2016

As always with a 6f Handicap at Chelmsford, this race is an extremely competitive affair, see our full race preview and betting tips below where we try to pick apart this very difficult contest.

IN SUMMARY: A very trappy contest as usual in a 6f Handicap at Chelmsford, and preference is for PARKOUR. Returned from a 5 month absence a fortnight ago with a good effort at Lingfield finishing midfield, the blinkers now come off and more can be expected on his 2nd run since that break. Others to note are Pearl Spectre who goes for the hat-trick and Dutch Golden Age who would be dangerous if managing to get to the lead from Stall 8, which will be no easy feat.

1 PEARL SPECTRE – Two wins on the bounce here at Chelmsford at 7 and 6f, getting up in the final strides latest over 6 to just beat Dutch Golden Age. Has a great chance today of putting up the Hat-Trick with Dutch Golden Age drawn poorly for his tactics, so has to be considered a big danger, respected.

2 PICTURE DEALER – Has decent form in the book from the summer of 2015, good enough to win a race like this but hasn’t shown anything on three runs back since August. Now tried in the Tongue Tie but makes limited appeal in current mood.

3 CAPTAIN DION – Dual winner on slow turf at Redcar and Pontefract and now makes the switch to AW after a very flat effort back in October at Catterick (7f, Soft). Stall 4 for a potential front runner is a huge plus but there are no guarantees he’ll effectively make the switch to the AW, but E/W claims if he does.

4 PARKOUR – Off 5 months until November when returning with a decent effort at Lingfield over 6f, beating Pearl Spectre narrowly and not beaten far. Blinkers come off for his 2nd run since the break and he should have come on for that effort, and has a huge chance of taking a contest where many rivals have lots of question marks surrounding them.

5 EL VIENTO – Drops down 3lb to an attractive mark after another flop, this time at Kempton over 5f, being badly outpaced until the final furlong where he managed to latch onto the back on the line. Should fare better now back at 6f but doesn’t appeal much judged on his past 3 efforts. Although it’s interesting to note the last occasions he dropped to Class 4, he has hit the frame, so has a place squeak.

6 VARSOVIAN – Has a record of 2-4 over C&D thus far and due to a poor run he now drops to a pretty handy mark. Hasn’t ran since July however and makes limited appeal on comeback due to this incredibly poor patch.

7 SOPHISTICATED HEIR – Goes up another 3lb for a decent enough 3rd here latest, but that was in plating company and this race is much tougher. Limited appeal.

8 ANONYMOUS JOHN – Has dropped 11lb since January but the handicapper still seems to be well in charge, if judged upon recent efforts, the latest of which when not quite getting there at Kempton (7f, Std to Slw). Needs more.

9 SEPTEMBER ISSUE – Only wins have come at 5f and stall 14 is a huge negative. Extra furlong not necessarily a plus either and others have much more pressing claims.

10 DUTCH GOLDEN AGE – Very unlucky latest when chinned in the last few strides over C&D by Pearl Spectre latest. Seems to want to front run which could be a negative from stall 8 but has also come off the pace for decent results so has definite place claims if building upon that nice effort latest.

11 GOLD CLUB – Has ran respectably over C&D in the past, most recently when a close 4th here behind Pearl Spectre last Thursday. Has to have an Each-Way poke on the back of that effort but is pretty hard to win with (3-25).

12 WELEASE BWAIN – Seems better suited to 5f these days and goes into a more competitive race than his last two where he’s not really managed to get involved. Probably will struggle to land a blow today.

13 PANTHER PATROL – Well held latest here over 7f when 7th of 15 and has really struggled of late to land a blow for win purposes, and was well behind Pearl Spectre on that latest run. Stall 13 is not a blessing and claims aren’t obvious today.

14 INTERLINK – Won on penultimate start over C&D easily as he should have done but then flopped badly at Kempton latest which seemed to show his limitations (6d, Std to Slw). Another tough task today and doesn’t strike as the winning type today.

myracing Forecast Prices: 3/1 Pearl Spectre, 7/2 Dutch Golden Age, 13/2 Gold Club, 8/1 Captain Dion, 9/1 Parkour, 11/1 September Issue, 12/1 El Viento, 14/1 Sophisticated Heir, 16/1 Anonymous John, 16/1 Welease Bwain, 20/1 Varsovian