Over half of the
runners in the Betfred.com Silver Bowl Stakes (3.45) at Haydock on
Saturday, May 24 are available at 14/1 or longer odds in the ante
post lists, so it looks just the type of race in which we can find
two or three that could go well at huge prices.
The first one that
leaps off the page is Almargo, trained by Mark Johnston, who can be
backed at ludicrously generous 40/1 with Betvictor and Coral. The son
of Invincible Spirit completed a hat-trick on the Polytrack at
Kempton, Lingfield and Wolverhampton earlier in the year and again
ran well when fourth of twelve, beaten 5¾ lengths, behind Bilimbi at
Musselburgh in April. He’s 12lb better off with the winner this
time around and the return to faster underfoot conditions should suit
him much better than the soft ground he’s encountered the last
twice. He has a sprinting pedigree and weakened inside the final
furlong at Musselburgh, so it’s possible that stamina is an issue,
but at such long odds it’s a chance worth taking.
Another who appears
generously priced in the ante post lists is Pupil, trained by Richard
Hannon, who is available at 25/1 with Bet365 and Coral. The son of
champion first-season sire Mastercraftsman has been quite highly
tried since winning his maiden, over a mile, at Doncaster last
September, but his subsequent third, beaten 1½ lengths, behind
Pinzolo in a small conditions race at Newbury makes good reading in
the context of this race. The winner is now officially rated 104,
which suggests that Pupil is far from overburdened off a mark of 92
on his handicap debut. Stable jockey Richard Hughes has bigger fish
to fry on the other side of the Irish Sea but, in his absence, Jim
Crowley is a more than able deputy.
Mawfoor, trained by
Brian Meehan, has also tried and failed at Group level, but there
wasn’t much wrong with his reappearance at Ascot last month and,
with plenty of stamina in the bottom half of his pedigree, promises
to be even better over a mile. He could only keep on at one pace over
7 furlongs at Ascot, but is entitled to improve for the run, his
first since last September and looks feasibly weighted. Hamdan Al
Maktoum’s retained jockey, Paul Hanagan, understandably prefers
Zarwaan, but that may not prevent Mawfoor from going well at the 25/1
generally available.
The Betfred.com Silver
Bowl promises to be an exciting and informative contest and, because
outsiders is what we’re all about, our three against the field are,
in order of preference
Almargo 40/1 with
Betvictor and Coral
Pupil 25/1 with Bet365
and Coral
Mawfoor 25/1 generally.
If those three fill the
first three places, you may not be hearing from us for a while. Good
luck!