Stratford Tips: Affinity can star at Stratford

There are no fewer than seven meetings taking place across the UK and Ireland on Thursday and Day Two of Chester’s May Festival is undoubtedly the highlight of the day. Amongst the day’s action will be a jumps fixture from Stratford, where they have an eight-race card from 16:40-20:20, and the ground is expected to be good to soft, good in places.

In my Stratford tips, I’ve selected the three best bets of the meeting at the Warwickshire track, including Star Of Affinity who looks ready to get his head in front sooner rather than later.

18:20 – Star Of Affinity @ 11/4

Whilst we’re very unlikely to discover any world-beaters in this race, it should be competitive nonetheless.

Mel Rowley runs R Bernard and he appears off the back of an impressive victory here over an extended 3m2f when last seen. A 10lb rise seems pretty significant however and I think he’s worth taking on.

STAR OF AFFINITY is lightly raced over hurdles, especially in handicap company and it surely won’t be long before he starts winning races. It was a much-improved effort when third at Exeter last time out and he clearly appreciated the extra furlong.

Joe Tizzard’s five-year-old kept on well despite getting outpaced and the 2m6f trip is likely to facilitate further improvement. There have been clear signs of progress since switching to handicaps and he can get off the mark in this company.

18:50 – Village Master @ 2/1

There are never any guarantees but recent form suggests that there’s one standout candidate for this race and the horse in question is expected to prove popular with the punters.

Warren Greatrex’s VILLAGE MASTER is chasing a hat-trick and it’s hard to establish a serious challenger that can stop him from obliging once again. Connections wasted no time in sending him over fences after he raced just three times over hurdles, showing very little.

It was a completely different story upon switching to fences and handicaps. The son of Mastercraftsman is unbeaten over the larger obstacles and it would be a surprise if there wasn’t more to come from the five-year-old.

He overcame some inconsistent jumping to get off the mark at Hereford on his penultimate start over 2m5f. Village Master improved on that front when winning comfortably when upped to three miles next time and a 7lb rise seems fair.

It could be a while before the handicapper catches up with him and he’s certainly expected to come out on top here.

19:50 – Silverbridge @ 11/4

Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero run SILVERBRIDGE here and the four-year-old has only had three starts over hurdles thus far. Fourth on his hurdling debut at Hereford in January, that was a respectable effort although he failed to back that up at Wetherby next time.

The four-year-old receives an 8lb allowance here and that could prove to be a significant advantage. He kept on well despite being outpaced when third in a 0-110 at Bangor last time out and that was a much-improved effort.

Down in grade and now on a 1lb lower mark, he’s thoroughly unexposed and should be capable of building on that effort. The extra two furlongs here also look likely to suit and we think he can get the job done.

Find more Horse Racing Tips here at Betfred Insights