Bangor-on-Dee, Saturday 23 May: Tips and Selections

Bangor-on-Dee, Saturday 23 May: Tips and Selections

A seven-race card at Bangor-on-Dee on good ground, with the going likely to stay consistent under partly cloudy skies. Three races stand out for punters looking for genuine angles, and there is a compelling case to make at decent prices across the card. The Epsom Derby is just a fortnight away if you are planning ahead, but today’s focus is firmly on the Welsh border.

1:50 — Bangor-On-Dee Ladies Day Maiden Hurdle

Selection: Ladies Day (8/11 BoyleSports, Betfred)

Short price, but this is a weak maiden and Ladies Day is comfortably the class act in the field. The five-year-old mare finished second in three of her last four bumpers, including a Listed mares’ event at Huntingdon in December. Crucially, she translated that bumper form directly to hurdles with a runner-up effort at Fakenham on good ground, going down to a front-running favourite who was allowed a soft lead. Jack Andrews takes over in the saddle and the trip drops back from 2m4f, which the Spotlight suggests suits her.

Trainer T Ellis does not set the stats alight over the past fortnight, but the horse’s own profile does the talking here. The only credible market rival is Mega Etoile at 11/2 for Henrietta Knight. The filly has improved with every hurdle run and was unlucky in running at Fontwell last time, getting bumped and losing ground in the closing stages. She is an interesting each-way option in a bigger-priced world, but Ladies Day is the practical selection at this level.

2:25 — Wrexham Lager Novices’ Handicap Chase

Selection: Le Gentleman (11/4, BoyleSports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

The going question is the one thing that gives pause here. Le Gentleman has never run on ground without soft in the description, and today is good. That caveat noted, trainer Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero have been in fine form over the past fortnight (5 winners from 21 runners), which counts for plenty at this level.

The French import finished well when third at Chepstow last month on just his second run in Britain, over a shorter 2m trip. This step up to 2m4f looks like the key move. He stayed on strongly in that Chepstow race and the extra distance should play to his strengths. If the good ground is not a problem, and there is nothing in his profile that screams he cannot handle it, this looks an exploitable mark in a small field.

Big Boy Barney (4/1) is honest enough and the first-time cheekpieces could sharpen him up, but the Greenall-Guerriero yard’s form stat is the edge here and Le Gentleman’s finishing kick is a weapon in a weak novice handicap.

4:10 — Bangor-On-Dee Handicap Chase

Selection: Twig Each-Way (10/3, BoyleSports, Betfred, LiveScore Bet)

The headline race of the day and the most interesting puzzle on the card. Twig at 10/3 is the play. Ben Pauling’s eleven-year-old was second at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival and won the Becher Chase at Aintree last season in gritty fashion. Yes, he flopped in the Grand National last month, but the National is its own brutal test and many horses come out of it below their best before bouncing back at a routine track.

The critical detail in the Spotlight is that he is only 2lb higher than he was for his last win, and most of his victories have come on good ground. Today’s conditions are ideal. The drop back in trip from National distance to 3m also makes sense, and this is a class drop. Beau Morgan claims 5lb, which sweetens the burden at 168lbs.

The danger is Somespring Special at 9/4. The eight-year-old mare won convincingly at Newton Abbot two weeks ago on good ground and has hit a personal best. She is up 6lb and the step up to 3m is the unknown. Philip Hobbs and Johnson White have had just one runner in the past fortnight, so there is no meaningful trainer form to lean on either way.

Cruz Control at 3/1 showed signs of life at Aintree last month, but Tom Lacey’s yard has gone 0 from 11 in the last fortnight, which is hard to ignore. Twig, on the right mark and the right ground, is the value call at 10/3.

Today’s NAP