Best bets for the horse racing Thursday 23rd June

Following a slow start to the week where my first bet wasn’t until Wednesday, Western Writer gambled from 9-4 into odds-on at one point but finished second, the pace picks-up a bit now as I have three bets for Thursday. Two are short, but you may choose to have a cheeky patent.

Best bet for the horse racing at Newmarket

Deodar is a Juddmonte homebred, by Bated Breath out of Tested, that I have been keeping tabs on and the three-year-old gelding had no less than five entries across the coming couple of days and weekend. He will run on Thursday in the 7f Feature Space Fraud Fighter Handicap at HQ due off at 3.45. Having won over six at Newbury on debut at two he was then second in the Listed 6f Doncaster Stakes before being put away for the winter. He returned to action at three back at Doncaster to win a 6f Novice Stakes. Seven furlongs was the limit of his sire and dam but with his Grandsires being top-class milers Dansili on the sire side and equally classy miler Selkirk on the dam side he may well stay eight furlongs eventually. An opening handicap mark of 95 looks workable with more likely to come yet; I would not be surprised if he was racing at Pattern level sooner rather than later. Get on at Evens if you can this morning. 

Best bet for the horse racing at Nottingham

You would expect to see a few Godolphin owned ones at Newmarket on Thursday but there won’t be any runners in the blue silks. Charlie Appleby has sent two out on trips and both should be backed. The first is up at Nottingham in the Bet At racingtv.com Novice Stakes over a mile at 2.55 and is Border Edge. The three-year-old gelding was only seventh on belated debut at Doncaster over seven-furlongs in March but it is a Novice Stakes with some form in the book. Maljoom won it and having won next time at Kempton he went on to be an unlucky loser in the G.1 St James's Palace Stakes with his next run likely to be in the G.1 Prix Jacques le Marois; four others that ran in the contest have also won since. He was very green that day and surely will have come on for the run. I am on at the generally available 5-2. Counsel is the obvious danger but has to give them all weight.  

Best bet for the horse racing at Leicester

The other Charlie Appleby entry that caught my eye was the team at Moulton Paddocks sending Naval Power to Leicester to run in the first there at their evening meeting the 7f British Stallion Studs EBF Novice Stakes at 5.15 with William Buick also making the trip. The jockey has a full-book of rides, unsurprisingly, but this looks the one that he has travelled for. Has to give 6lb to his rivals having won on debut at Yarmouth in May but the son of Teofilo should be able to do that. I have the 4-6 - hate tipping odds-on but I have been waiting for this one.  

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