Monday Racing Tips: General to take command at Kempton

There are six meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland on Monday which means there’s plenty of racing to look forward to. Ffos Las kicks us off and is swiftly followed by Pontefract and Hexham, while there is also evening action from Kempton, Windsor and Tramore.

Amongst the stronger fancies for our Monday racing tips is one for trainer Emma Lavelle that looks well set for a return to winning ways.

14:52 Pontefract - Esmeray @ 2/1

Pontefract’s feature race is an interesting Class 2 handicap over 1m2f and Ralph Beckett’s ESMERAY is a fascinating participant on just her second start in handicap company. The daughter of Sea The Moon only made her racecourse debut nine months ago and the best is undoubtedly still to come.

She improved from her debut to finish second by a neck at Bath in August, before going one better at Ffos Las three weeks later. It was an utterly dominant display over 1m2f and she pulled clear to win by almost five lengths.

It’s also worth noting that the form of that win has received a firm boost since, as the second went on to win on next start. Her performance on handicap debut at Newbury next time was therefore disappointing but she didn’t appear to get the trip so you can probably put a line through it. The return to 1m2f is therefore likely to suit and there could be any amount of improvement to come.

18:00 Kempton - General Medrano @ 10/1

This is a very competitive 0-135 handicap chase and there are plenty of recent winners in the field. Emma Lavelle runs GENERAL MEDRANO here and he looks well placed to run a big race.

The drop back to 2m2f looks likely to suit, as he lost second on the run-in over 2m4f at Huntingdon last time out. Alongside that, the handicapper has dropped him 1lb which should come in handy.

He made an excellent start to his chasing career, having managed to win his first two starts over fences in good style. Lavelle’s seven-year-old has probably struggled with his mark a little bit since but should be winning again soon now it’s beginning to fall.

The son of Ocovango was a good second to Brave Kingdom at Plumpton in November and he actually had to give that rival 6lb, despite currently being rated 7lb lower than him. A return to winning ways should be on the agenda soon and this could be the day.

18:30 Kempton - Highstakesplayer @ 4/1

Watch out for HIGHSTAKESPLAYER at Kempton as he’s won three of his four chase starts and won over course and distance back in February. That victory was particularly impressive as it was his first start for 458 days.

Below-par at Newbury last time out, he’s definitely capable of better and should be competitive off this mark. That race may have come too soon for him and the bounce factor has to be considered.

He’s been given plenty of time to get over that and we should see a much better performance this time around. The drop in grade can also help and victory here would be no surprise at all.

Find more Horse Racing Tips here at Betfred Insights