Horse Racing Tips: Olly Murphy looks poised to score on Thursday

Jumps racing holds sway across the UK and Ireland on Thursday with seven meetings taking place across the afternoon and into the evening. 

First off is Perth before they go at Beverley, Warwick, Tipperary and Kilbeggan; followed by racing at Bangor and Chelmsford in the evening. Amongst our horse racing tips for Thursday is one for trainer Olly Murphy who will be hoping a return over course and distance will help his charge bounce back to form.

15:37 Warwick - Ikarak @ 5/2

A previous course and distance can get his campaign back on track as Olly Murphy’s IKARAK takes to the field at Warwick this afternoon.

The seven-year-old looked impressive when winning here back in January, when defying top weight to get the job done. He had Henry Daly’s Minniemum back in third that day who has been impressive, now switched to fences, including an emphatic victory in class 2 company last time out.  

His latest run at Chepstow can be forgiven as a return to a sounder surface here will only benefit Murphy’s gelding, as three of his four wins over hurdles have come on good to soft. With all of the runners in this competitive race having a bit to prove, a step down in class and a slight step up in trip can give Ikarak a great opportunity to return to the winners enclosure.

16:33 Perth - Doctor Ken @ 11/4

This Class 2 handicap chase over two-and-a-half miles looks to be a cracking competitive race with many feeling they’ll have a great chance of winning. Having been off the track for 616 days prior to his last run DOCTOR KEN put in an eye-catching performance and gets the vote here.

Olly Murphy’s nine-year-old has clearly had his issues off the track and as a result finds himself lightly raced.

However, his latest outing at Kempton back in November was very positive, finishing second to course specialist Es Perfecto, who has since franked the form, as well as finishing 19 ½ lengths in front of subsequent Petemps Final winner Doddiethegreat; despite being in receipt of weight from Nicky Henderson’s representative.

He’ll have the added bonus of the recent Irish Grand National winning jockey Sean Bowen in the saddle, which will give Doctor Ken every opportunity to keep up this good bit of form.

18:40 Bangor - Erne River @ 13/2

Nick Kent’s gelding ERNE RIVER travelled well enough in his latest outing at Aintree, just losing out on second place in the final strides of the race. If he is able to replicate that performance here he should be in with a great chance.

Despite being without a win, Kent’s 10-year-old has enjoyed a fairly respectable campaign running well in some competitive class 1 handicaps and therefore should find this Class 3 contest an easier test. He arrives at Bangor today 5lb lower than his previous winning mark and will enjoy the sounder surface underfoot.

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