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Talking Horses: Haulaini at 12-1 the pick of Monday's horse racing

Salisbury, staging its final fixture of the year, could be the venue for a 12-1 winner trained by Philip Hide.
Salisbury, staging its final fixture of the year, could be the venue for a 12-1 winner trained by Philip Hide. Photograph: Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Today’s best bets, by Chris Corrigan

The Findon trainer Philip Hide is having his best season since embarking on his Flat training career five years ago. Hide, who rode more than 400 winners over jumps, is currently enjoying a 17% win strike-rate with his runners on the level.

“This is the first season I’ve had a group of horses I could run and keep running them when the right races come along,” Hide said on Sunday. “Yes, they started off well this year and they’re still performing well.”

Hide is due to saddle four horses on Monday and nominated the 12-1 shot Haulaini (4.35) at Salisbury as perhaps his best hope. The trainer was by no means suggesting Haulani carries big stable confidence but said: “He runs as top weight in a 0-70 race today. If you’d told me he would be competing in such company at the start of the season, I’d have dismissed the idea. We expected much more from him. He’s been disappointing this season but if he can recapture some of last year’s form then tomorrow he’s thrown in.”

Habits can be costly but in amateur riders’ races on the Flat, the name “Mr S Walker” is an immediate attraction. The odds available for Simon Walker’s mounts are invariably kept tight by the bookmakers – and, admittedly, his excellent record is best on all-weather-tracks, where this season he is again showing a profit. But it is difficult to ignore his prospects at Windsor on Nutini (5.15) at 13-8.

Nutini was made a 5-2 favourite at Bath a week ago, finishing second in soft ground. The ex-Irish-trained four-year-old looks to be running into form, carries the same weight this time and his chance would seem to be boosted by the form of Malcolm Saunders’ stable; in the last fortnight, Saunders has saddled three winners from six runners.

Better odds of 5-1 or so will be available for Bakht Khan (5.25) at Kempton. Kevin Ryan’s juvenile was third last time out at Wolverhampton in a race won by Expecting, who again won well at Chelmsford last week.

Bakht Khan been better drawn, but the extra furlong today should see further improvement from this colt.

Tips for all Monday races

Pontefract
1.55 Eyecatcher 2.25 Rastacap 2.55 Me Too Nagasaki 3.25 Dan Emmett 3.55 Mama Africa 4.25 Duke’s Girl 5.00 Graphite

Salisbury
2.05 Hurricane Lil 2.35 High Seas 3.05 Vixen 3.35 Rolling Dice 4.05 Global Applause 4.35 Haulani 5.05 Rydan

Windsor
2.15 Paint 2.45 Prerogative 3.15 Delsheer 3.45 Holiday Girl 4.15 Zamfir 4.45 Black Trilby 5.15 Nutini 5.45 Concur

Kempton
4.55 Augenblick 5.25 Bakht Khan (nap) 5.55 Buffer 6.25 Precious Angel 6.55 Glassalt 7.25 Banish 7.55 Daring Guest 8.25Maazel

Musselburgh
3.10 Marchingontogether 3.40 Our Place In Louie 4.10 Royal Icon 4.40 Storm Cry 5.10 Thesme (nb) 5.40 Hitman 6.10Harbour Patrol