Musselburgh 16:00
This is the best race of the day at Musselburgh, and it's a ten furlong class three handicap. There are only nine runners but a lot of them come here in good form.
Rodrigo De Torres is the second favourite and is looking for a four timer here. However, his hat trick run started in a class six off a mark of 63 and he now runs off a mark of 84 in this class three. Furthermore, those three wins were all over seven furlongs as opposed to the ten here (which he's never run over before) so I think that's more than enough to suggest he may struggle today.
Green Howard had tumbled down the weights to an almost wannabe mark and he just lost out over a mile at Ripon on his previous run. He has been raised four pounds for that effort and is another trying his luck over ten furlongs for the first time. I think the extra weight and distance will prove too much for him in the end.
Flyman is at the top of the weights and is a very consistent sort. Although well beaten last time out, that was in a higher class race and this appears to be more his level. He has run almost exclusively over six or seven furlongs and it is guesswork to assume he will get the extra trip here.
Ifwecan is seven pounds higher than his highest winning mark and although extremely consistent it would take a big improvement to figure here and seems unlikely.
The one I really like is the three year old Spring Offensive. He is lightly raced having run only four times this year (three of those in a higher grade) and last time he was staying on under pressure when his jockey dropped the whip and he was beaten less than a length. This is a similar class of race and he runs from the same mark so he has every chance. He also has a decent claimer in Jack Garrity on board taking three pounds off so for me he is the standout bet of the day.
Golf - The Barclays
With the FedEx cup bonus of $10m on offer for a good showing over the next four tournaments, there will be no shortage of high quality fields.
Played at Plainfield Country Club, which is a fairly short course by today's standards, this won't necessarily favour the long hitters like so many that are played now.
Due to the course conditions I am taking a chance on Luke Donald continuing to improve on his current form. He was solid if not spectacular at the US PGA at Whistling Straits where he finished minus two, and with this shorter course I think it will play to his strengths and is worth a small each way at best price 100/1.
Today's Selections
Musselburgh 16:00 Spring Offensive - 1 point @ 2/1
The Barclays - Luke Donald - 1/2 a point each way @ 100/1