Return To Sligo Could Do The Trick For Chips

Swaheen ran a poor race in the Vase and his run summed up my weekend of betting in a nutshell. I went to the Curragh for Derby Day and had an absolute disaster of a day from a punting perspective. Apart from the gambling it was a good day out, and it was good to see the Derby horses in the flesh. Harzand is a really impressive sort and he proved his class with a hard fought win from Idaho. He probably had more in hand than the winning distance suggests and the Arc beckons for the son of Sea The Stars.

It has been tough for the blog in recent weeks and though we had a nice winner at Epsom it has generally been slim pickings for the last month. It would be easy to try and tip up a few at shorter prices to try and get a winner on the board, but I am going to stick to my guns with my 25/1 e/w selection for Tuesday at Sligo. The horse I like is Chips Are Down and he runs in the 6.5f handicap at 7.00.

This 6yo son of Ad Valorem was a useful sort in his 2yo days and he won two handicaps, including one over course and distance off 73 on heavy ground. There has been lots of rain in Sligo during the last few days and it would be no surprise were it to come up softer than the current description of good to yielding. The more rain that falls the better it is for Chips Are Down as he loves to get his toe in.

He obviously had some issues after his 2yo career as he wasn't sighted for almost 4 years. He turned up at Cork in a 7f heavy ground handicap and finished well beaten in 9th. He stayed down South for his second run back, this time over 6f on quick ground, and he was again well beaten. However, he was entitled to need both of those runs after such a long layoff and there was a lot more encouragement to be gleaned from his last effort at Naas just 6 days ago, off a much reduced mark of 55.

It was a fairly odd run to be honest, but he definitely showed a whole lot more than he had on his first two runs back. He seemed to break well from an inside draw and he was well up there as they completed a furlong. However, he seemed to get chopped off after 2f and he found himself trapped on the inside. He was allowed to drift back through the field by Gary Carroll and he was probably second last as they entered the last 2f.

He was switched out off the rail and as Carroll pushed him out he started to make ground pretty quickly. He again ran up the back of another horse a furlong out, and it was a troubled passage to say the least. There may be another duck egg in his form after that 11th place finish but he was only beaten 5L for the win, he was fairly close to the placed horses and, with a clearer passage, he would have gone a lot closer to nicking some place money at least.

I think his fitness is starting to return and it is no surprise Mulvany turns him out again after just 6 days. He races off a mark of just 52 in Sligo, a full 21lb below the mark he won off here as a 2yo. Now that was 4 years ago admittedly, but it is unlikely that Mulvany would persist with the gelding unless he retained enough ability to win a race. There were definite positive signs at Naas and, with the rain due to arrive, he now returns to the scene of his last victory. He looks a big price at odds of 25/1 and he is worth a few quid each way from a decent draw in stall 4.

STEVOS' SELECTION: 7.00 SLIGO: CHIPS ARE DOWN E/W 25/1