Wolverhampton (AW), Sunday 28 June 2026

Wolverhampton (AW), Sunday 28 June 2026

A steady Sunday card at Dunstall Park, seven races on standard going under partly cloudy skies. Nothing glamorous on paper, but there are angles worth attacking, particularly in the two handicaps where the market has left a few horses priced generously. Across town at Spielberg, the Austrian Grand Prix is underway, and the Red Bull Ring crowds will be generating more noise than Wolverhampton today, but that suits us fine. Fewer eyes on the card means more value left in it.

2:05 Restricted Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (1m1½f)

Roger Varian has a 25% strike rate at this track over a large sample, and even in a quieter recent spell, his runner Cherringham is the one to beat here. She ran freely on debut at Lingfield and faded to fifth, but there was ability in that performance. The key upgrade is the surface: Lingfield’s Polytrack and Wolverhampton’s Tapeta ride very differently, and plenty of fillies find the switch beneficial. She is bred to progress and a 3lb weight advantage over the older mares gives her a clear structural edge.

James Tate’s Blue Celestial (2/1 Boyle Sports) represents the main danger. Six career starts, a placed run on the AW, and Hector Crouch, who converts at 18% here, in the saddle. Tate is running at 26% from his last 23 runners, that is the yard firing. Stamina at nine furlongs is the genuine question mark. Cherringham at 2/1 is fair rather than generous, but the combination of trainer venue stats, surface suitability and breeding makes her the correct selection.

Selection: Cherringham (2/1, Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet)

2:37 Handicap (1m1½f)

The most competitive race on the card, and the market has installed Faeberon as favourite at 6/4. That feels tight for a horse still learning his trade in handicap company. The better angle sits at a bigger price.

Windbreaker (5/1, Boyle Sports / Betfred) tops the figures for William Haggas, a trainer who hits 21% at this track. The 5/1 is workable. Last time out at a mark 1lb above today’s, he was denied a clear run at a critical stage and beaten 3½ lengths. That is a significant piece of interference to discount. Strip it away and he probably finishes a great deal closer. Cieren Fallon takes the ride for a stable that goes in at Wolverhampton regularly.

Court Of Stars is a solid alternative each-way at 10/1. She won at Kempton earlier in the season, finished fourth last time despite missing the start, and arrives from an inside draw. The consistency is there. But Windbreaker is the one the form points to most clearly.

Selection: Windbreaker (5/1, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

4:23 Handicap (6f, 13 runners)

Thirteen runners over six furlongs on the all-weather, wide draws to navigate and a field that is largely made up of horses who have been knocking on doors without quite managing to open them. The value play here is clear enough.

Trust Sergei Each-Way went down by just 1¼ lengths last time over this course and distance, off the exact same mark he carries today. He ran well into second at this venue before that. The trainer Gary Hanmer has one win from seven recent runners, which is acceptable, and Jonny Peate takes the ride. At 10/3 favourite he is not the generous price we would prefer in a 13-runner handicap, but the form fits this race perfectly and the placed terms across four positions at a fifth the odds give the each-way ticket legitimate value in a competitive sprint.

The dangers are dotted around. King David at 15/2 returns to the AW surface that suits him after a mauling on turf at Bath, and the first-time blinkers and tongue-tie combination occasionally sparks a revival. White Umbrella at 8/1 has placed in similar company before and the first-time cheekpieces could sharpen her up. Neither is reliable enough to confidently take on at shorter prices.

Selection: Trust Sergei (10/3, Boyle Sports / LiveScore Bet, each-way)

Today’s NAP

Windbreaker — First Windsorlot Then Voltaic & Now Teardrops Handicap (2:37, Wolverhampton)
Odds: 5/1 — Boyle Sports (others: 5/1 Betfred, 5/1 LiveScore Bet)

Tops the figures in a competitive three-year-old handicap and ran into interference last time that cost him the race, off a mark 1lb higher than today’s. William Haggas fires in at 21% at Wolverhampton over a substantial sample, and 5/1 is a fair price for a horse the form clearly suggests should be finishing closer than his recent results show. Straightforward each-way claims too, with only ten runners and a horse that stays the trip well.