Today’s Horse Racing Tip – 7:15 Wolverhampton 29 Mar

Today’s horse racing tip runs in the Betway Casino Claiming Stakes at 7:15 Wolverhampton, this one-mile and one and a half furlong claimer has been reduced to six runners following the withdrawal of Start Seven.

Eight-year-old Tha’ir was the comfortable winner of a selling race over the course and distance seven days ago and is the number one choice for our free racing tips today. The Michael Appleby-trained gelding has been a fair performer in the past, with 13 career wins and a 29% winning strike rate on the all weather. Not the force of old when winning a listed race on the turf and competing at Group 2 level but certainly has enough quality to best this evening’s rivals albeit at shorts odds.

Barnaby Brook has notched two previous wins at this track and was successful over course and distance last September and on paper, has the best claims to challenge the favourite.

However, Tha’ir put Tom Dascombe’s charge in his place last week, beating Elisha Whittingham’s mount by six lengths and the 4lb turn around in weight is unlikely to be enough to reverse the form.

David Evans enters nine-year-old Athassel, a five-time course winner who won seven from 31 in a busy schedule last year. The gelding offers plenty of experience but is held by Barnaby Brook on their meeting at this course three and a half weeks ago.

Black Dave has winning form, most recently in a ten furlong seller at Lingfield last December. The gelding has had two runs since returning from a winter break without giving an indication he’s ready to visit the winner’s enclosure soon.

Thecornishbarron will be fitted with cheekpieces for the first time in an effort to increase his interest. The six-year-old gelding looked well below form in a handicap over this course and distance a fortnight ago when extending a losing run to sixteen races since last tasting victory in July 2016.

Nobel Duke was off the course for almost 600 days following a fair debut in May 2016. The gelding moved to Michael Scudamore’s yard where he was tried over hurdles but pulled up on his debut. The five-year-old has been uninspiring in two subsequent maidens on the flat and looks out of the reckoning here.

Today’s forecast is for moderate showers at Wolverhampton which will not affect the going on the Tapeta surface which is Standard.

The defection of Start Seven has made this race a lot easier for today’s horse racing prediction. Admittedly, Tha’ir is not the force he once was, but his current form stands out above the rest and he is strongly fancied to justify short odds today.