8.00pm Chelmsford Tips & Betting Preview 02/02/2017

Just the six runners go to post for this Class 5 maiden fillies’ stakes contest worth £5,175. Run over six furlongs, some exposed fillies’ go to war in a bid to land the prize. Read on for our runner by runner guide, expert analysis and free tip for the evening race at Chelmsford racecourse.

IN SUMMARY: The best jockey in the UK, Ryan Moore, is aboard Angel Of Darkness so she is likely to have many supporters and go off a warm order for this contest. However, the newcomer BASTIA (4/1) is with an extremely shrewd stable with David Simcock who has a sublime level stakes profit with his first time out runners. She won’t have to possess too much ability to land this weak contest and she can score before going on to bigger and better things this season.

1 WONDERFUL LIFE – The most exposed runner in the field and this four year old has shown limited ability from her six starts to date, her best effort coming on turf at Doncaster back in July. Tailed off on her last two starts, Adam Kirby gets back on board and interestingly, first time blinkers are applied. She has to give weight to the field as she is an older horse so she looks up against it.

2 ANGEL OF DARKNESS – It’s nice to see Ryan Moore back in the saddle, we don’t see too much of him in the UK at the moment. He rides this Charles Hills trained filly by Dark Angel who was done by a narrow margin over seven furlongs at Kempton last time out. Stepping back to six furlongs will definitely suit her down to the ground and she looks the horse to beat tonight.

3 BASTIA – Debutante for the Martyn Meade stable and she is well bred by Paco Boy. Fitness has to be taken on trust first time out but any market support could prove very significant. Martyn has a terrific record with his debutantes and since 2011 he has a level stakes profit of +£63.25 with his first time out runners. On top of that, he has a profit of £14.43 when he sends one runner to a flat meeting and she doesn’t need to be a superstar to land this. Big player.

4 CIRCULATE – Very well backed 4/5 favourite for the Tom Clover yard at Wolverhampton two starts back but she showed a lack of bottle, hitting 1.05 in running and got nailed on the line. The exact same thing happened last time out at Lingfield. She was backed off the boards, went off the 4/5 favourite, hit 1.64 in running and got run out of it in the closing stages. There’s no doubt she has enough ability to land this race but alarm bells are ringing after her last two starts.

5 SARRAB – Conrad Allen trained debutante by Footstepsinthesand. Hard to fancy on debut for a yard that is so quiet currently with zero winners from his last thirty runners. Unless there is some significant market support, she looks difficult to back on debut.

6 ZILZA – Another filly trained by Conrad Allen but unlike Sarrab, she has some valuable experience under her belt which is an advantage. Martin Dwyer takes the mount on this Paco Boy filly who was an eye-catching fourth over this course and distance last time out, staying on in strong fashion in the closing stages. If she can build on that promise, she has to be a major player in a race of this nature but the form of the trainer would have to be a concern. Lively player.