Recommended bet: Tip of the day
1pt win Dark Destroyer in 3.20 Wolverhampton at 11/4 – maiden form reads extremely well in this company and likely to take higher rank
On a fairly low-key Tuesday with the Lincoln meeting looming large at the weekend, it’s hard to miss the obvious claims of Dark Destroyer as he makes his handicap debut from a mark of 75 at Wolverhampton.
On all known form that is a rating from which the son of Helmet should be seriously competitive and it’s hoped a maiden win at Kempton last time out has provided a much-needed confidence boost ahead of his return to competitive action.
The 53-day break since opening his account may not look absolutely ideal on the face of it, but there’s a strong chance trainer Joseph Tuite has quite high hopes for the horse this summer and has merely been biding his time ahead of the start of the Flat season proper.
If the Irish 2,000 Guineas entry to his name is anything to go by then the three-year-old colt was evidently showing an abundance of promise as a juvenile and it was presumably highly frustrating for connections that he failed to register from three outings last term.
He was put away for four months after disappointing in a Salisbury maiden in September but the good run at York prior to that was enough to suggest the horse had a fair future and gladly he looks to have matured now based on his two all-weather runs during the winter.
Dropped 5lb (had been rated 80 at two) after a neck defeat over six furlongs at Lingfield on his return to action (first two well clear of the rest), he went one better with a decent performance when stepped up to today’s seven-furlong trip at Kempton last time and the runner-up, John Gosden’s Tricorn, has since won at Newcastle off a mark of 75.
The Lingfield form has worked out even better during the time Dark Destroyer has been off the track, three subsequent winners (not including himself) emerging from the race, and although a wide draw in today’s 32Red.com Handicap (3.20) is likely to force John Egan’s hand when it comes to tactics, the likes of Mia Cara, Bazwind and the well-drawn (and well-backed) Sidwwinder look likely to set a ferocious pace up front and could just tee it up for the closers, of which the selection appears to possess the best turn of foot.
Revel is another danger as he’s a typical slow burner from the Stuart Williams yard that could really blossom now he’s tasted victory, but a 7lb rise for his Kempton is possibly a little harsh considering the two to have run from that event since have done nothing for the form.
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Posted at 0848 BST on 28/03/17.
