Lucky 15 Tips: Tuba can play the right tune at Chelmsford

The weather has wreaked havoc across the UK & Ireland and with that in mind, my Lucky 15 tips focus on the seven-race, all-weather card hosted by Chelmsford, where there are a couple of intriguing Class 5 events.

Here are four of our strongest fancies across the card and they can be combined to form a Lucky 15. Among them is a Fergal O’Brien-trained runner whose stamina could prove to be a major asset in the 1m6f handicap at 16:37.

14:07 Chelmsford - Shafdar @ 11/10

The very intriguing maiden SHAFDAR has been all around Europe and he started off in a Leopardstown maiden over 7f as a two-year-old. He went off at a big price that day and struggled behind subsequent Group 1 winner Twain.

Making the switch to France after that, he made one start for Mikel Delzangles at Amiens where keenness got the better of him, which resulted in him fading into fifth.

He put in a fair effort on his debut for this yard at Kempton and although he had no chance with the impressive and expensive Charlie Appleby-trained winner, he may well have finished closer with some better luck in running.

This isn’t the deepest of maidens and he will not need to improve a great deal in order to go close here.

15:07 Chelmsford - Monks Mead @ 2/1

MONKS MEAD has done well over the winter and produced a much improved performance to finish fourth in a Lingfield handicap on his first start after a break. Returning to winning ways in this grade at the same track last month, he managed to come out on top by a narrow margin.

Mark Usher’s five-year-old did all his best work late on when second on his most recent start and the good form is expected to continue here. He’s well suited by the race conditions, as the handicapper rates him as the best horse in the race, and should be going close.

16:07 Chelmsford - Forever Noah @ 11/4

FOREVER NOAH is winless in 15 starts under rules but most of his recent efforts suggest that could be set to change sooner rather than later. Joey Ramsden’s five-year-old wasn’t beaten far when third off this mark at Wolverhampton in November.

Sean Levey has been booked to take the ride and the gelding is adaptable with regards to trip, having finished second by a head over shorter here last time out. The handicapper has responded with a 1lb rise but a similar effort may well be enough this time around.

16:37 Chelmsford - Tuba @ 9/4

Stamina won’t be a problem for Fergal O’Brien’s runner TUBA here, as the five-year-old managed to win over further at Wolverhampton a couple of months ago. His record on the all-weather is much better than on turf or over hurdles and there could be more to come.

The son of Golden Horn was always prominent and he kept on well to score by just shy of two lengths at Wolverhampton. The front two were well clear when he finished runner-up at Southwell last time out and that effort suggests he’s up to winning more races.

If all four selections obliged at the quoted prices, a 50p win Lucky 15 would return around £124 for a £7.50 total stake.

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