Thursday’s Wetherby Tips: Magic on the cards in the opener

Wetherby is one of five meetings taking place in Britain and Ireland on Thursday and the card runs from 14.15 to 17.10, featuring six races.

We have three fancies on the card including a bright prospect for an in-form yard that bids to get off the mark in the opener and a recent course winner that looks capable of going in again.

14.15 Wetherby - Magical King @ 4/7

Trainer Stuart Edmunds has been banging in the winners in recent weeks and has remarkably had five winners, from his last six representatives which has included an Irish raid with his star mare Marsh Wren, who was successful at Listed at Thurles level last week.

He looks capable of enhancing that impressive recent strike-rate at Wetherby on Thursday afternoon with his gelding, MAGICAL KING.

The son of Diamond King has been running well in defeat all winter and while he was a little out of his depth at Sandown last time, he should find this assignment easier.

A return to softer conditions won’t be an issue either given that he hit the crossbar on soft at Aintree earlier in the season and he’s held his form well on varying ground since that run.

His two main rivals in this contest would be a threat off level weights but they both have to concede 7lb penalties to the selection, who could also improve for the fitting of first-time cheekpieces.

Jockey Fergus Gillard is enjoying a good season and has a strike-rate of one win from three rides for the yard and is also three from nine at Wetherby so his booking can be seen as a positive.

15.25 Wetherby - Wreckless Eric @ 1/2

There was plenty to like about the debut of WRECKLESS ERIC when he was last seen at Newbury five weeks ago.

Ben Pauling’s charge pulled a long way clear with Valadon, a rival that already had a win on the board, and they pulled 12 lengths clear of the third, another rival that had shown something previously.

With the likelihood of Wreckless Eric coming on for that run and the yard in flying form in recent weeks (running at a 33% strike-rate,6-18), he should be hard to beat in a winnable four-year-old hurdle contest.

16.00 Wetherby - Eaton Collina @ 11/10

EATON COLLINA arrives on the back of a career best effort when he bolted up by 25 lengths here a few weeks ago and he looks capable of going in again, despite a 7lb higher mark.

He was left out in front by a faller but he still had the race in the bag at that point and had the rest beaten off in comfortable style. He seems to relish soft ground, conditions that he certainly got that day and it’s going to be tacky again here with a drying forecast (ground currently soft to heavy).

He’s another selection that represents a yard in-form. Kerry Lee’s stable form reads 1P11 and she also has plenty of winners at Wetherby, running at a near 20% career strike-rate at the Yorkshire venue.