Betfred Handicap Betting Preview

At this time of year it pays dividends to follow in-form sprinters on an upward curve and Judd Street, who looks overpriced to my mind at 6/1 with Bet365, can underline the point by landing the Betfred Handicap at Chester today (2.20). The Fulke Johnson Houghton-trained charge is comparatively lightly raced for a sprint handicapper and shaped as though he would more than pay his way when giving weight and a beating to a race-fit rival in the shape of Tanforan at Windsor on his reappearance earlier this month, a race in which the first two finished upwards of three lengths clear of the remainder. The four-year-old tended to hang a bit at Windsor, not looking ideally suited by the good to soft going, so he deserves extra credit for that performance, and he will be much better suited by the faster going on the Roodee on the second day of this tracks popular May meeting. Furthermore, he is drawn in stall four and the fact that he's won three out of his four starts on the all-weather at Lingfield demonstrates that he is comfortable racing around tight turns like those he'll face here, and the son of Compton Place has the requisite early pace to exploit his handy berth. Philip Robinson has been booked to ride Green Manalishi again having steered the five-year-old to victory at Newbury where he beat Corridor Creeper by a length and a half with four of today's rivals behind. David Arbuthnot's charge merits plenty of respect, but a 5lb rise leaves him off a career-high mark, while six of his seven career victories have been achieved on straight, galloping tracks, and his best recent form has come when there's been more give underfoot. Cape Royal has run well here in the past and is bound to be on the premises, although the balance of his form suggests that he's vulnerable in a race of this nature off his current mark, a comment which also applies to Merlin's Dancer, who has the speed to make use of his draw in stall two, but he is still 4lb higher than for his last win and Dandy Nicholls' stable hasn't started firing yet. Perhaps the biggest threat to the selection will be posed by Pivotal's Princess, who is also a lightly-raced four-year-old open to improvement. She wasn't disgraced when pitched in Listed company last season and, if she's fit for her first run of the current campaign, a bold bid looks likely. Recommended Bet: 1pt win Judd Street @ 6/1 (VCBet) Ends.