Chelmsford Tips: Rivals must be wary of Monks Mead speed

With the Flat season well and truly closed, top yards without dual-purpose horses shift their focus to the all-weather meetings, as proven by the talent on display at Chelmsford on Tuesday afternoon. 

There are three all-weather meetings on Tuesday, with Lingfield and Newcastle also hosting cards, as well as National Hunt action from Warwick as well as Fairyhouse in Ireland.

However, our focus stays with the racing on Chelmsford’s Polytrack surface in Essex, where there is a nice mount for William Buick, off the back of his winning ride in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita on Saturday, in the opener.

12:20 – Aqwaam @ 7/4

Aqwaam did his best work late on over 1m5f at Lingfield last time out when finishing second to Sharp Distinction, who he faces again in the Class 5 Follow @racingtv On Twitter Handicap, and that was a fair effort on just his second all-weather start.

He may fare better this time around as his re-opposing rival is 5 lbs higher for his success and the upped trip of 1m6f may be more up the Ian Williams-trained Aqwaam’s street than Sharp Distinction’s.

Not only should the extra furlong suit Aqwaam, but also the booking of champion jockey Buick should aid his cause and help him reverse the placings.

Buick has won 36% of his races in the past fortnight (5 out of 14 as of Monday morning) and gave an impressive ride on Master Of The Seas at Santa Anita on Saturday to land the Breeders’ Cup Mile, suggesting he could bring the required improvement for his mount on Tuesday.

14:05 – Shakeela @ 7/2

The fourth race on the card, the Class 5 Join Racing TV EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes, looks set to be a closely-contested 7f affair with three horses likely to head the market, with preference for Shakeela.

The Roger Varian-trained two-year-old justified favouritism at Southwell last month following an eye-catching debut, and the two she left in her trail in that win have looked progressive since, giving her the best form in this contest.

Charlie Appleby’s Panarea won on her debut over 6f at Ascot and the John and Thady Gosden-trained Jeanne D’Arc finished second on her debut after a bad start at Wolverhampton last month.

Both are expected to run Shakeela close, but the unexposed filly may be too strong for her rivals as she finished with a flourish in her Southwell success and may have too much speed for her opposition.

Jack Mitchell is operating at a 18% strike rate in the past fortnight and he takes the ride as Shakeela looks set to take this contest.

15:50 Monks Mead @ 11/2

The final race on the card, the Class 6 Redcar Racecourse Supports RBL Poppy Appeal Nursery Handicap, could see success for a smaller yard as Mark Usher’s sole representative at Chelmsford makes appeal.

Monks Mead was a shock 150/1 winner at Lingfield in July and has proven that not to be a complete fluke as he has finished second at Windsor and Bath, on his most recent run, since.

The two-year-olds two runs at Chelmsford have seen him finish eighth out of eight and sixth out of 10, which could put off punters, but context is required.

Those runs came over six furlongs and seven furlongs respectively whereas Tuesday’s trip will see him attempt a mile for just the second time, with his only other effort over that distance being the fore-mentioned second at Bath.

Rab Havlin, who is operating at a 18% strike rate in the past fortnight, takes the ride and his experience could bring further improvement out of Monks Mead who rates a good each-way bet.