Racing: Totesport Cambridgeshire (1st October)

This year's renewal of the totesport Cambridgeshire, held on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket on October 1, is shaping up to be as devilishly competitive as ever. As has progressively become the case, those that compete in handicaps like this are generally on the fringe of pattern class and often go on to acquit themselves in that sphere. As such, it's a wise school of thought to look for a horse that has not been over cooked and who may well be harbouring some secrets from the handicapper.Consequently, the Roger Charlton-trained Blue Monday is an absolute must for any shortlist and simply has to be backed at the generally available price of 10-1. The four-year-old has only had seven races in his life, largely owing to niggling training problems, but he appears to be on very good terms with himself now and there's every chance that he'll go on to be a fair bit better than his current official rating of 99.The son of Darshaan landed the Zetland Gold Cup at Redcar in May, before going on to finish a highly creditable fourth behind subsequent Group Three scorer Notable Guest in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot at York, despite not fully seeing out the 12 furlong trip.The drop back to a mile and a quarter saw him go painfully close to landing the valuable John Smith's Stakes at Newbury next time where he failed by the shortest of short heads to concede 10lb to Star of Light.Charlton has planned Blue Monday's season with one eye on this race and, considering that he was having his first run for three months at Newbury, it's perfectly feasible to suspect that he will be a sharper horse on October 1, while a strongly-run nine-furlongs on the Rowley Mile should be absolutely perfect for him.I strongly believe that Blue Monday will provide Charlton with his second winner in this having landed the 1995 renewal with Cap Juluca. However, I'd also recommend a small saver or Torinmoor, who is worth a couple of quid of anyone's money at 20-1 with Bet365.The latter looked desperately unlucky in that Newbury race won by Star of Light and did well to finish little over three lengths adrift of the winner in ninth place. Also a four-year-old on an upward curve, the son of Intikhab has fared well on each occasion that he has tackled Newmarket's Rowley Mile, and ran a particularly sound race when beaten little over a length by Solo Flight there in May, where a whole host of subsequent winners were back in the rut.Like Blue Monday, Torinmoor will be ideally suited by the combination of the nine-furlong trip and the break-neck pace, and I expect to see Amanda Perrett's charge weaving through horses in the closing stages and go very close.Brian Ellison has indicated that Ashkal Way, one of the ante-post favourites for the race, might not run. He was hampered in the early stages of the aforementioned race won by Star of Light at Newbury and, under the circumstances, ran a sound race to come home in seventh place. If he were to line up, he would certainly be one to consider, although I'd still be inclined to stick with Blue Monday and Torinmoor.Also in that Newbury race was Rohaani, who looked poised to score two furlongs out but couldn't quicken under pressure close home and finished a close-up fourth. Having had just four runs, and with his form looking decent, he has to enter calculations.Pedrillo proved most disappointing when favourite for this last year but is another that merits serious respect after landing a decent contest at York last time, while the likes of Kew Green. Momtic and Realism have all proved themselves in fiercely competitive handicaps this season and they are all in with a shout, particularly Kew Green, who is another that should relish the way in which this race will be run.Recommended Bets: 2pts win Blue Monday @ 10/1 (general)1pt win Torinmoor @ 20/1 (Bet365)