Hamilton Park Tips: Rocket is ready for lift-off

With eight UK and Irish meetings taking place across Friday there's lots of racing action to cater for all tastes. 

Arguably, the best meeting is at Hamilton, where the seven-race card from 17:30 until 20:50 includes a Listed race and a valuable sprint handicap. We've picked out a trio to follow in the west of Scotland, including a former Royal Ascot runner-up who is now on an attractive mark. 

Today's Horse Races

18:35 – Rocket Rodney @ 13/2

The likeable Jordan Electrics has become something of a course specialist at Hamilton and is worth respect here. However, he is eight and running off a career-high mark.  

When ROCKET RODNEY was second in the 2022 Windsor Castle Stakes, Jordan Electrics was a workaday six-year-old handicapper rated in the 60s. Rocket Rodney is back in the sort of form to confirm superiority with his in-form rival. 

After a quiet three-year-old season, Rocket Rodney got back in the groove in Bahrain over the winter. On returning to these shores, he took a couple of runs to get going but ran a creditable race to finish seventh in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot last time. 

He has been dropped 3lb for that effort, which seems generous. Rocket Rodney is also not a true Ascot specialist. As a juvenile, he also ran big races at Sandown, Goodwood and York. A stiff finish at Hamilton should suit. 

19:10 – Kalpana @ 5/6

The Glasgow Stakes is a race for slow burners and although she briefly flirted with running in Classics, that is what KALPANA is bound to become. She can make use of her weight-for-sex allowance and lack of a penalty. 

It was in handicap company where Kalpana first came to prominence. She won by 10 lengths at the Craven meeting and went straight into a Listed race. She was second there, and followed up with a creditable third in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot. 

There is more improvement to come for Kalpana, and this smaller field in a lesser grade appeals as the sort of environment to bring it out. 

19:45 – Love Wars @ 7/2

Three-year-old filly LOVE WARS has only run three times, but has already built up a knack for confounding low expectations. She was 15-2 when winning at Thirsk on her debut at two, but a head defeat on her handicap when sent off at 40-1 last time seems an even more relevant sign of things to come. 

Normally, handicap debutants get a lot of respect from the market. Love Wars did not, yet she ran Miss Attitude close at Haydock 27 days ago. The winner and third have since come out and placed, which lends some weight to the form without advertising that it is red-hot. 

She is of course still unexposed. This race is also a slight drop in class, and it lacks depth aside from Moon Flight who might just about deserve to be favourite. Love Wars is the obvious improver to move past him. 

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