Waar’s up for the battle of Balmoral
TODAY is the fifth running of the Balmoral Handicap and the previous four contests have produced two important trends that our hero must fit:
■ Drawn 10 or lower.
■ Aged four or five.
In each of the previous events — on ground ranging from heavy to good — the field have raced on the far side.
And it’s almost certainly going to be the case again — which ties in with our draw stat — so we are left with a shortlist of Mjjack, Sharja Bridge, Safe Voyage and Waarif.
Of the four, Mjjack is the first to be shown the door as he doesn’t get the trip.
Sharja Bridge ran Newmarket last time without setting the world alight.
Safe Voyage is reportedly hard to train but is an improver.
He defied an 11lb rise after a Haydock win to score at Galway in August, and a further 4lb hike for that victory links him closely at the weights with WAARIF through a horse named Get Knotted.
Waarif, trained by the shrewd David O’Meara (above), followed up an Ayr success with a respectable effort from an unfavourable draw in the Cambridgeshire and then finished runner-up from his current mark at York.
He looks the value bet this afternoon, so have 2pts each-way at 33-1 with Paddy Power.