6.15pm Kempton Tips & Betting Preview 05/04/2017

This is a tricky maiden at Kempton, see our betting tips and the full race preview below.

IN SUMMARY: Two horses should dominate this market and BLUE ON BLUE gets the vote ahead of Bowerman to come out victorious here. He’s a full-brother to Nemoralia and there should be plenty more to come from him as a 3yo and he offers a bit more value than Roger Varian’s runner. Ply is worth close attention on racecourse debut with a lovely pedigree.

1 BOSPHORUS PRINCE – 5yo making only his third start today and he ran a nice race off a 2 and a half year break at Wolverhampton last time out. He picked up the pieces to finish in the places and showed he had recovered from any possible issues he had. Trainer has sent out a winner from his last two runners but his runner here must give away a lot of weight and will be better treated in handicaps.

2 BLUE ON BLUE – Full-brother to the high class Nemoralia and he should be capable of a lot better this season. He was well-backed on debut and sent off at 11/10 but he couldn’t finish better than fourth and went backwards if anything on his next start in a Class 4 maiden at Newmarket. That was significantly harder than today’s race and he should come on a lot now entering his 3yo campaign. John Gosden has an excellent 22% strike rate here and he’s fully respected.

3 BOWERMAN – Beaten a head by a more experienced rival on debut and there was a lot to like about the performance from this Dutch Art colt. He was a pricey 150,000GNS as a yearling and there should be a lot more to come from him this season as well. He hasn’t got any fancy entries but will be popular here for a yard that’s operating at a 40% strike rate at the moment. Plenty of respect in this.

4 CHANCE TO DREAM – May have been slightly flattered on his racecourse debut when running past beaten horses but that maiden was still at a fair level over C&D and he should do better now. He’s got a fitness edge over his rivals and a draw in stall 6 shouldn’t disadvantage him too greatly. Likely to be involved early on but he’ll probably find a few of these too tough. One for handicaps.

5 DELANNOY – Yard do okay with their runners here (excellent £23.07 profit to level stakes) but it’d be a surprise to see him win this. He’s raced out the back in two starts to date although there has been a little bit of money around for him and connections may feel the step back up to a mile will suit him better here. Of interest if money arrives for him but another that could find a couple of these too strong.

6 HIGGY’S HEARTBEAT – One of two un-raced runners in this and he’s related to a couple of decent enough sorts in Ornate and Saayerr. He cost £24,000 as a 2yo which is a modest amount all things considered and it’ll be interesting to see how he fares here. This trip may stretch him slightly given his pedigree is full of speed and he may be seen to better effect if there is a slow pace and he can be delivered late. Yard are profitable at Kempton (£4.88 profit).

7 HIPPOCAMPUS – Finished ahead of The Raven Master at Lingfield late last month and he ran very green having been slowly into stride and a bit keen. He was a decent purchase at £70,000 and he should be capable in this grade if he’s improved upon his recent outing and learnt from the experience. Has an ideal draw in stall 2 if he can get out and show early pace. Yard have had plenty of maiden winners here recently.

8 PLY – Lovely pedigree, by Dubawi out of a mare who won a Listed contest at Newmarket. Kieran Shoemark claims 3lbs off his back which will help on debut but he’s trapped out in stall 9 and will probably have to sit and suffer in behind from the start. As always with racecourse debutantes, it’s hard to know how they will take their first experience on the racetrack but his profile suggests he could be smart and he needs close attention in the betting.

9 THE RAVEN MASTER – Beaten just over 7 lengths on two runs to date and hasn’t been disgraced in similar contests to this including over C&D. He’s raced keenly and the hood is left on here but the presence of a claimer suggests connections aren’t confident about his chances today at the weights and he may relish a trip slightly further than this. Best watched here although the yard has been in decent form of late.