Ted's Wednesday Wagers: Nine selects for the week's racing action

Ed 'Longshot Ted' Quigley has been amongst the winners lately and is back with his best bets for the remainder of the week's action.

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Wednesday 13 August:

Salisbury - 3.00 Sunny Corner

9/2 Ladbrokes

The combination of 1m and a return to this track should be a key help to SUNNY CORNER to get back to the winning groove. The gelding is one from one over Course and Distance, and from a mark of 67, is just 1lb higher than when last successful.

He fluffed the start at Chepstow last time out, but that below-par effort can be forgiven at a course like that, and it would be far from a surprise if he put in a much improved display here with Luke Dace in the saddle, claiming a further 5lb. He excels on fast ground, so underfoot conditions should be spot on, and a strongly run race over this trip looks ideal. Sunny Corner gets the nod from me in this Class 5 Handicap.

Salisbury - 4.30 Azaniya

4/1 Ladbrokes

We have Listed action for the Fillies over 10f, and this is an intriguing encounter as some class-droppers are looking to cash in on an easier task. However, I am looking the other way, and an in-form filly who has been rising through the ranks in the form of the Owen Burrows-trained AZANIYA. The three-year-old arrives on a hat-trick and looks to be really going through the gears.

She won at Newmarket in emphatic fashion over 1m on her penultimate start, and then got the job done on Handicap debut at Windsor last time out, despite not looking totally in love with soft ground. She showed the test of stamina was no issue though, and should be much happier back on this quicker surface. The booking of Jamie Spencer suggests a change in tactics could be in store, and a more patient approach could easily be on the cards. 

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Thursday 14 August:

Chepstow - 4.45 Romanovich

4/1 Betfred

Chepstow is a track which tends to develop course specialists, and ROMANOVICH is shaping up into one of them. He has four course and distance successes from just six starts, so clearly the idiosyncrasies of the Welsh venue play to his strengths.

He won on the line from Soi Dao last time out, and although Soi Dao is 1lb better off, she keeps finding ways not to win, so I would rather stick with the proven performer. William Carson takes the ride on the 6-year-old, and another visit to the winner's enclosure would be far from a shock. 

Salisbury - 5.10 Skibo

7/10 10bet

Granted the form the Ralph Beckett team are in, SKIBO won't need to improve much to land the odds in this 10f Handicap. The lightly-raced individual appeared to enjoy the switch to Handicaps and the step up 10f when runner-up over Course and Distance last time out.

Open to any amount of improvement, conditions should be spot on for the son of New Approach. Rossa Ryan is in the saddle, and this combination looks to have major claims of scooping this Class 4 prize in a race that is arguably slightly easier than the race he tackled in the same Grade last time out. I like the chances of Skibo.

Friday 15 August:

Yarmouth - 4.00 Telecommunication 

TELECOMMUNICATION has been in my notebook for a while, and it is the step up to this extended 1m3f for this assignment, which I think is key to the chances of the three-year-old getting back to winning ways. A winner at this track over 10f back in May, he had looked a bit sour since, until the headgear went on for the first time last time out when finishing third at this track.

However, as mentioned, the trip is more of an issue for me, as he looked in need of much further than 10f as he ran on strongly. Stepping up to this extra distance can help his claims here in my opinion, where there is a greater emphasis on stamina, and he therefore could easily have more to offer off his current mark of 68. Michael Bell's representative looks to have major claims. 

Newbury - 4.45 Desert Treasure

We have a 5f Listed event for the fillies, and if the William Haggas-trained DESERT TREASURE takes her chance, she looks more than capable of making her presence felt at this level. The daughter of Ten Sovereigns has had two starts, and has won them both. On debut at Yarmouth, she was slowly away and looked green and in need of the experience, but still showed a good attitude when it mattered.

Next time out at Windsor she put in a much more polished display, albeit in a weak affair. She wasn't the quickest away from the gates once more, but travelled powerfully into contention before making her superiority tell inside the closing stages of the race. Who knows where the ceiling of her ability lies, and she is potentially an exciting runner here.

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Saturday 16 August:

Newbury - 1.50 Pinhole

There are no excuses here for PINHOLE, who destroyed the opposition last time out over 1m4f on Handicap debut with the cheekpieces applied. It looked to me as though he just looked a different proposition last time out had learnt from his Royal Ascot excursions.

Pinhole was a bit worked up in the prelims and didn't settle properly throughout the race. This looks a suitable opportunity to step back up in trip where this flat, galloping track should play to his strengths. Unexposed and open to any amount of improvement, he looks to have the tools needed here to get the job done. Ralph Beckett has his string in good form - I like this combination.

Ripon - 3.20 Nostrum

There is every chance that NOSTRUM has lost his spark, but simultaneously he is starting to look dangerously well handicapped for new connections. The former Sir Michael Stoute inmate was a classy operator in his pomp, winning at Group 3 level, and ran well in a Dewhurst once upon a time.

There has been a bit of water under the bridge since then, but the five-year-old remains relatively lightly-raced and after three lacklustre runs for the David O'Meara team, he has started to fly down the weights. Rated 114 at his peak, he has come down 10lb in the ratings and now looks to have a massive chance from a handicapping point of view. The drop back to a sprint could just do the trick for an individual who has been keen in the past. It wouldn't be the biggest upset in the world if Nostrum put in a big run here on these terms.

Newbury - 3.35 Notable Speech

This may be last chance saloon for NOTABLE SPEECH, as he has to prove the old fires still burn. Recent form may suggest that he isn't quite the force of old, but at the same time, he has performed admirably in back-to-back Group 1 contests over 1m, and then at the top level again when beaten just over two lengths in the July Cup. He gets to drop down in class here and steps back up to the niche 7f trip.

Both of these factors are obviously huge positives, and if the former 2000 Guineas hero can't land a blow here then it will be hard to see where connections go from here. I am confident that he can put his best foot forward here though and show his class in this line-up.

Ted's picks at a glance:

Wednesday:

Salisbury - 3.00 Sunny Corner

Salisbury - 4.30 Azaniya

Thursday:

Chepstow - 4.45 Romanovich

Salisbury - 5.10 Skibo

Friday:

Yarmouth - 4.00 Telecommunication 

Newbury - 4.45 Desert Treasure

Saturday:

Newbury - 1.50 Pinhole

Ripon - 3.20 Nostrum

Newbury - 3.35 Notable Speech