Horse Racing Tips: Star Pupil can be on his best behaviour at Wolverhampton

We have a fairly quiet Monday on our hands this week with just three meetings taking place across Britain and none in Ireland.

Wincanton kicks us off in the afternoon and is swiftly followed by a six-race card from Newcastle and Wolverhampton’s all-weather meeting provides the evening entertainment.

Amongst our three horse racing tips for Monday is one for trainer Richard Hughes that has been rock-solid since the turn of the year and further success shouldn’t be ruled out.

14:45 Wincanton - Minniemum @ 1/2

Henry Daly’s MINNIEMUM managed to win one of her 16 starts over hurdles and that success came off a mark of 101 at Bangor in May. The good ground here should be to her liking, as that win came in similar conditions.

Competitive without blowing anyone away over hurdles, it was a very different story when she made her chasing debut at Exeter last week. Despite jumping to her right throughout the race, she still won by a margin of 19 lengths and was always in control of the race.

You would imagine the handicapper is getting ready to whack her with a substantial rise for that effort and now could be a good time to catch her with that in mind.

Only carrying a 7lb penalty here, the extra weight wouldn’t have stopped her last time and she should prove hard to beat if producing a similar performance here.

16:00 Newcastle - Pay The Piper @ 9/4

Look out for Ann Hamilton’s PAY THE PIPER as he looks well set for a first win over hurdles since 2021. He finished second behind Givemefive, who is useful on his day, over a shorter trip at this venue last time out and the longer distance is unlikely to be an issue.

It’s worth noting that the handicapper has dropped him 2lb since, which could facilitate a return to winning ways. His record over hurdles is rock-solid, winning three of his seven starts over timber and only failing to make the frame once.

This gelded son of Court Cave appears to go on any ground, having won on everything between good and heavy, so he’s unlikely to struggle on the quicker ground this time around.

Pay The Piper has a decent course record to boot and looks like the one they all have to beat. Last winning off this very mark over fences in October, his consistency is well set to be rewarded with victory here.

18:00 Wolverhampton - Star Pupil @ 9/4

Richard Hannon’s STAR PUPIL didn’t take long to get off the mark and managed to do so in a 6f novice on just his third start back in April 2024. It took a while for the penny to drop in handicaps but he was an impressive winner over 7f at Chelmsford back in January.

It was hard not to be impressed by that performance as he was short of room at the start of the race but recovered well to take the lead and the result was never in doubt from that point on. He pulled four-and-a-quarter-lengths clear and was far too good for them on the day.

Hughes’ four-year-old wasn’t beaten far when second on his second start over a mile at the same track last time out and this progressive sort should have more wins up his sleeve.

This is an Extra Place race, meaning that Betfred will be paying 3 Places (1/5 Odds) instead of 2.

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