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Sam King tipped a 3/1 winner at Wolverhampton last night and returns with two more selections on Wednesday…
Taunton has done well to give National Hunt fans something to enjoy during this cold and wintery period, but it looks like a tricky six-race card and the best betting opportunities come from all-weather meetings Kempton and Newcastle.
We head to Newcastle for our first selection. There's no doubt it has been a touch disappointing that Northern Ruler remains a maiden after three outings to date, but he's surely capable of landing the Extra Winnings With BetUK Acca Club Novice Stakes at 2.03.
An official rating of 88 might well flatter the Clipper Logistics-owned colt, but even still, he has some solid form in the book that suggests this is a more than suitable assignment.
Formerly trained by William Haggas, Northern Ruler would have gone into plenty of notebooks when runner-up on his debut at Windsor back in July. The winner, Roi De France, has gone on to finish second in Listed company and is now rated 104, while the third and fourth-placed horses are both rated 95 and 89 respectively to give the form a solid look.
He went on to chase home a decent prospect of Sir Michael Stoute's at Yarmouth second up and although it was disappointing that he was turned over at short odds at Lingfield in September, it's possible the tight nature of that all-weather surface was his undoing.
Now up beyond twelve furlongs for the first time and under the care of Karl Burke, who is operating at a very healthy 40% (6-15) strike-rate over the last two weeks, you can expect Northern Ruler to get off the back on his stable debut.
WIN – Northern Ruler
Odds – 10/11
Over at Kempton, Megaphone catches the eye on his first start for George Boughey in the British Stallions Studs EBF Maiden Stakes at 6.00.
The ex-Roger Varian-trained three-year-old looks like just the type of horse new handler George Boughey excels with and it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Hamilton Road-based trainer had him ready to rock and roll after 234 days off.
A striking son of Kodiac, he shaped much better than the bare result when sixth of seven in a warm Newmarket (Rowley) novice race back in May, travelling up nicely between rivals before flattening out in the closing stages. The winner Ancient Truth, who is now rated 117 at the end of his two-year-old campaign after finishing third in the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes in October, was only five and a half lengths in front of him that day and still remains a live 2000 Guineas contender at this stage. The first five home in that maiden are all rated somewhere between 117 and 82 and there's no reason to think Megaphone couldn't hold a similar mark in due course based on his debut effort.
The likes of Blue Empress, New Charter and Desert Champion will ensure this is no pushover for Boughey's new recruit, but the early market vibes have been strong this morning and he gets a confident vote to make a winning start for new connections.
WIN – Megaphone
Odds – 13/8