Friday Racing Tips: Eleanor Bob primed to strike at Catterick

All-weather racing edges out the National Hunt action with three meetings compared to two across the afternoon and evening in Britain and Ireland on Friday.

Catterick kicks us off and is followed by Lingfield and Southwell, before Dundalk and Newcastle take us into the evening.

One of our stronger fancies for the day is one for Venetia Williams who shouldn’t be far away from a return to the winners’ enclosure.

15:05 Catterick - Eleanor Bob @ 15/8

Currently on just a 3lb higher mark than when last scoring, Venetia Williams’ Eleanor Bob appears to have every chance up in North Yorkshire this afternoon.

The daughter of Midnight Legend ran a cracker in a competitive race at Haydock on her penultimate start, finishing a respectable fourth behind a progressive handicapper. That was a particularly good effort, bearing in mind it was her first start for 626 days.

There are potential excuses for a significantly below-par effort over the same course and distance next time out. She may well have fallen victim to the bounce factor and it’s easy to forgive her for that reason.

Her last win came at Huntingdon in February 2022, off a mark of 114 and she should be capable of winning off 117 here on that evidence. Still lightly raced for a nine-year-old, there could be plenty more to come from this mare.

15:35 Catterick - Shantou Moon @ 11/4

Look out for Shantou Moon at Catterick, as Tristan Davidson’s gelding looks to follow up his course and distance victory last time out.

It was a comfortable win that day and he managed to achieve the rare feat of winning at Catterick, whilst being held up. It’s clearly important to him that he’s ridden that way however, as he idled once hitting the front but still managed to score by a length-and-a-half.

The handicapper has responded with a 4lb rise which certainly seems fair enough and another big run shouldn’t be ruled out. That victory came on similarly soft ground and he should be able to cope with the conditions once again.

The fact that he races from 1lb out of the handicap shouldn’t be a problem for him as this was also the case on his latest effort. It’s always a good idea to strike whilst the iron is hot and this gelding has every chance of gaining a third win over hurdles.

18:15 Newcastle - Emperor Caradoc @ 12/1

Paul Midgley’s gelding Emperor Caradoc has won over a stiff 7f on turf and appears to be unexposed on artificial surfaces, which gives him a live chance of returning to winning ways here.

His last win came at Carlisle back in September 2022 and he got the job done off a 2lb higher mark. With only two starts on the all-weather so far, he’s still finding his feet and there could be more to come.

It was a below-par performance over course and distance last time out. He finished sixth of seven but there may have been some legitimate excuses, as he probably needed the run on his first start after a break.

His third-place finish on his first start here was much more like it and he was a narrow third off just a 1lb lower mark. A repeat of that effort would surely put this gelding right in the mix.