Horse Racing Tips: Arabian Poet can get off the mark

We have four meetings to look forward to across Britain and Ireland on Monday and Flat racing takes centre stage, with three of the four fixtures taking place on the level.

Ayr and Kempton get us underway, whilst Windsor provides Britain’s evening entertainment, including a £75,000 handicap, alongside Ireland’s sole meeting at Ballinrobe, which is a seven-race National Hunt card.

 We have three strong fancies to follow on Monday and they include a handicap debutant for Charlie Appleby at Kempton who looks more than ready to get off the mark.

15:15 Kempton - Popeye Doyle @ 5/2

The lightly-raced POPEYE DOYLE showed very little in his first five starts and was beaten by an accumulative total of 80 lengths. However, Hugo Palmer’s three-year-old took a massive step forward to get off the mark at Wolverhampton when last seen.

That was just his second start in handicap company, albeit in a pretty average race, but there was plenty to like about the performance. He was prominent throughout the contest and kicked on to take up the running with two furlongs to go.

His rivals had no answer once he got rolling and the three-length winning margin is an accurate reflection of the gelding’s dominance. The handicapper has put him up 6lb as a result and it’s hard to argue with that, so further progress is anticipated.

16:52 Kempton - Arabian Poet @ 2/1

Charlie Appleby has plenty of winners at Kempton, with five winners from just 13 runners there so far this year. Better things would have been expected from 1,000,000 guineas purchase ARABIAN POET, as he has a smashing pedigree.

This son of Dubawi is related to several Group 1 winners, including Japan, and there have been small signs of improvement with each of his three starts to date. Second in a Class 2 at Doncaster last time, the switch to handicaps can encourage further improvement.

Jockey Dougie Costello has a very good record when riding for Charlie Appleby and an opening mark of 81 looks fairly workable. It’s hard to imagine that we’ve seen the best of this horse just yet and this looks like an excellent opportunity to get off the mark.

19:10 Windsor - Bishop’s Crown @ 11/1

Eve Johnson Houghton had a couple of winners at Glorious Goodwood and it would be no surprise if BISHOP’S CROWN was to provide her with another one here. There have been signs of a return to form in his last couple of starts and he’s clearly competitive off this mark.

Third in a Racing League fixture at Yarmouth last month, he rallied and kept on well despite getting a little outpaced at a key stage. It’s worth noting that his last win came off a 3lb higher mark back in September so victory off his current rating shouldn’t be beyond him.

Apprentice rider Oliver Carmichael comes in for the ride and his 7lb claim could make a significant difference. He’s perhaps running out of chances but a return to winning ways could be on the agenda sooner rather than later.

Click the links for all the latest Horse Racing Odds and Fast Racing Results

Find more Horse Racing Tips here at Betfred Insights