Silver Bowl Preview

Over half of the runners in the Betfred.com Silver Bowl Stakes (3.45) at Haydock on Saturday, May 24 are available at 14/1 or longer odds in the ante post lists, so it looks just the type of race in which we can find two or three that could go well at huge prices.

The first one that leaps off the page is Almargo, trained by Mark Johnston, who can be backed at ludicrously generous 40/1 with Betvictor and Coral. The son of Invincible Spirit completed a hat-trick on the Polytrack at Kempton, Lingfield and Wolverhampton earlier in the year and again ran well when fourth of twelve, beaten 5¾ lengths, behind Bilimbi at Musselburgh in April. He’s 12lb better off with the winner this time around and the return to faster underfoot conditions should suit him much better than the soft ground he’s encountered the last twice. He has a sprinting pedigree and weakened inside the final furlong at Musselburgh, so it’s possible that stamina is an issue, but at such long odds it’s a chance worth taking.

Another who appears generously priced in the ante post lists is Pupil, trained by Richard Hannon, who is available at 25/1 with Bet365 and Coral. The son of champion first-season sire Mastercraftsman has been quite highly tried since winning his maiden, over a mile, at Doncaster last September, but his subsequent third, beaten 1½ lengths, behind Pinzolo in a small conditions race at Newbury makes good reading in the context of this race. The winner is now officially rated 104, which suggests that Pupil is far from overburdened off a mark of 92 on his handicap debut. Stable jockey Richard Hughes has bigger fish to fry on the other side of the Irish Sea but, in his absence, Jim Crowley is a more than able deputy.

Mawfoor, trained by Brian Meehan, has also tried and failed at Group level, but there wasn’t much wrong with his reappearance at Ascot last month and, with plenty of stamina in the bottom half of his pedigree, promises to be even better over a mile. He could only keep on at one pace over 7 furlongs at Ascot, but is entitled to improve for the run, his first since last September and looks feasibly weighted. Hamdan Al Maktoum’s retained jockey, Paul Hanagan, understandably prefers Zarwaan, but that may not prevent Mawfoor from going well at the 25/1 generally available.

The Betfred.com Silver Bowl promises to be an exciting and informative contest and, because outsiders is what we’re all about, our three against the field are, in order of preference

Almargo 40/1 with Betvictor and Coral

Pupil 25/1 with Bet365 and Coral

Mawfoor 25/1 generally.

If those three fill the first three places, you may not be hearing from us for a while. Good luck!