Chelmsford has been a happy hunting ground for Charlie Appleby so far this year and he boasts an awesome record at the Essex track. He has sent just 11 runners there in 2023 and all bar two have finished in the first two, with five of those winning. This gives him a rather impressive strike-rate of 45 per cent which is certainly notable. The Newmarket-based trainer bids to improve that record with two good chances on Thursday. Check out our free tips page for daily content across British and Irish racing.
Bold Style goes for Appleby in the opening race on the card and is very much the one to beat. This son of Shamardal put in a fine effort to finish second on debut at Wolverhampton last month. He’s entitled to take a big step forward here and this race should be in the bag if doing so. Danny Tudhope is on board and he’s operating at a decent strike-rate of 29 per cent in the last fortnight. One look at his pedigree will increase your level of confidence and he’s likely to be much too good for this calibre of opposition.
Desert Order has a significant absence of 432 days to overcome but that appears to be the only negative here. Appleby’s charge has won two of his four starts and was victorious on handicap debut in a competitive race at Newmarket when last seen. The form of that win has since been boosted by the third who has gone on to win at Listed level. He’s on just a 3lb higher mark here and there should be plenty more to come now back over a mile.
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