Wednesday’s Racing Tips: Well-treated couple can solve Wolves puzzle

Three of the five meetings across the UK and Ireland on Wednesday are over jumps. They go at Warwick, Ffos Las and Hexham, then Dundalk and finish off with an evening card at Wolverhampton.

Amongst our Wednesday fancies is a couple of horses against the field in one of the best races of the day - on the evening card from Wolverhampton.

12:35 Ffos Las - Lump Sum @ 10/11

Lastly, Lump Sum is making his hurdles debut in the opening Class 4 2m maiden hurdle at Ffos Las, and he is one of the best potential bets on the day over jumps.

He stands out on the form of his opening two efforts in bumpers last season. Those two initial displays came on good to soft ground, but the son of Authorized should act on the heavy ground, and this test could prove the ideal starting point, if his hurdling technique is of the required standard.

18:30 Wolverhampton - Alligator Alley @ 7/2 & Mondammej @ 4/1

One of the best races on Wednesday features in the middle of the evening card from Wolverhampton, the Class 2 5f handicap. The best way to attack this race is to have two separate win bets against the field for reasons that will become apparent. First up is the more straightforward selection of the two, Alligator Alley, representing David O'Meara with David Probert in the saddle from what could have been a hand-picked draw in stall two.

The first selection is a prominent-runner who should be able to sit handy off to what is likely to be a strong gallop, with the likes of the 99 and 101-rated Chipstead and Clarendon House in opposition from stalls one and six, who both are likely to attempt to dominate in their races.

Alligator Alley took a step back in the right direction when a relatively close sixth of nine after a small break over this trip at Newcastle recently. His mark went down 1lb to 95 but his Racing Post Rating went back in the right direction and we know he is capable of winning in this grade over this course-and-distance, as he won a similar contest off 96 in December 2022.

A reproduction of the 105 Racing Post Rating he registered on that occasion may suffice, but the likelihood of a potentially frenetic gallop bringing one of the closers more into play leads to our second selection in the race.

Mondammej also contests the Class 2 5f handicap from Wolverhampton, and gives us a necessary, and strong, second string to our bow.

The second selection is a hold-up performer who will need the breaks to fall right in this contest from stall eight, but he should be ideally suited by the potentially frenetic gallop, and will hopefully be beginning to surge just as Alligator Alley is attempting to assert. He actually finished ahead of our first selection on their latest starts at Newcastle. Mondammej came a relatively close fourth of nine and his mark was raised 1lb to 86.

The crux of his claims are that more encouraging recent form and that mark of 86. He won a similar contest in this grade from off the pace at 97 in November 2021, and is potentially too well treated to ignore.