Paul Jacobs’ 4 Sunday value plays

Paul Jacobs’ Sunday racing tips

3:15 p.m. Limerick – Georgian Quarter
3:45 p.m. Sedgefield –My gift to you
15:50 Limerick – Chemical energy
17:20 Leopardstown – Nika Pika (Each Way)

*All prices are up to date with our nifty widgets, while odds in the text are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.

Maid of the Moon should be fine with her light weight, but I think a medium trip of two and three quarters might suit her best. GEORGIAN QUARTER has a real chance of finally breaking through the fifth time around. He ran a couple of point-to-point runs before running under the rules, but in three maiden races he was sent off at 50/1, 100/1 and 250/1, possibly on his last two starts went back two miles. This allowed him to record a nice handicap score.

Connections then ran the gelding over three miles in a maiden hurdle race in Cork, where he was eliminated at just 12/1, finishing an eye-catching fourth, clearly still in need of experience and staying on well in the home straight. Mark Walsh wasn’t too hard on him in the closing stages and as the cliché goes, he should be richly rewarded for that kindness by getting a fair opening score of 109 here in a race that in my eyes has very little power Depth.

The Durham National is the most obvious race to watch on the card, but I thought this extended three and a half mile chase would be a better betting form. Big Bee Hive is the obvious starting point and would be suitable for a big race, but isn’t rated high enough to make the field. A really grumpy stayer, the seven-year-old is well past his best and after being overtaken for the last time on the way home, he ran strongly in the final quarter mile to finish a close second to Prince Cleni at Southwell. This flat track didn’t play to his strengths and Sedgefield will suit him better in the extra quarter mile, but I wonder if he could be overtaken again at a crucial stage, so top weight is preferred.

MY GIFT TO YOU has a rating of 91 over Holz, he has proven to be an even better chaser as he has had triple digit misses lately and has probably had a bit of bad luck a few times. His third win over Jigginstown King over three and a half at Fontwell two games ago was probably close to the best of his career. With plenty of pace here and Alex Chadwick losing a valuable 5lbs to reach his mark of 104, he can confidently say he has given up the weight to Sam England’s side.

The Munster National is one of my favorite races in the first half of the national hunting season, with a large field on one of the most beautiful courses in the country. Horantzau d’Air has a top weight and mark of 145 and has a real chance, although his jumps are a bit sloppy in difficult situations, but he is still learning. Of course, being under Willie Mullins’ banner, he will come under pressure here, but there are plenty of alternatives in the weight classes that can counter him. Yes, Man made great progress last season but still needs to improve further to reach the 140 mark, while Panda Boy, one of my favorites, ran an excellent race for much of the Grand National at Aintree before failing at Valentine made a mistake the second time around his chances were ruined.

But I’m going to have double hands here with old boy Battleoverdoyen and CHEMICAL ENERGY. The former bounced back into form and won his first race under the rules in three years. Remarkably, both races came in Galway, which seems to suit his style. The 11 year old is my saver behind his stablemate.

Having lost 7lbs from his back, Carl Millar appears to be exceptionally well handicapped here with a score of 138, and his run behind Flooring Porter should have blown the cobwebs away as he made several small errors that resulted in him lost all momentum. However, he showed in the Galway Plate that he retained all of his old skills when he made 146, a late fifth out of 22 against Pinkerton.

I started at the top weight at Speckled Meadow after two great runs in Galway and Killarney in the summer, and with Wayne Hassett partnering him again he has solid claims at the top weight, but I wonder if he is still a better horse over a mile This is a slightly easier task than it has been recently.

Even at the top of the weighting, Summer Snow and Selective Power have good chances, with neither standing out as a value at the likely prices, and I’d rather go further down the list and play both ways with NIKA PIKA in my eyes Just couldn’t get home over a mile last time in Killarney on heavy ground. Back over 1400 meters, with a lot of pace in the race that he has to manage from the back, I’m hoping for a much improved run with Sam Coen, who has a huge advantage at the front for his gigantic 10lb claim.

Paul Jacobs’ Sunday racing tips

3:15 p.m. Limerick – Georgian Quarter
3:45 p.m. Sedgefield –My gift to you
15:50 Limerick – Chemical energy
17:20 Leopardstown – Nika Pika (Each Way)

*All prices are up to date with our nifty widgets, while odds in the text are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change.