Rhys Williams' Racing Tips: 6 Selections For Friday
Horse racing expert Rhys Williams is sharing his best selections for today's racing.
Rhys has been a racing analyst for over 10 years, working for At The Races and most recently as a tipster for Betfair where his tipping column had a 31% ROI over four and a half years.
He often focuses away from the front end of the market, finding angles that aren't evident to most.
Thanks to his recent 5/1 winners and Thursday's 6/1 success, Rhys' tips have returned 119.43 points from 98 points staked, meaning his profit and loss record stands at 21.43pts overall.
Here are Rhys' tips for Friday, using the most up-to-date odds from the best horse racing betting sites.
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13:45 Aintree: Emid'io Pepe - 0.5pt Win @ 11/1
Emid’io Pepe makes his debut for Dan Skelton in the opening handicap hurdle at Aintree and I think he has the potential to be better than a mark of 130.
He showed plenty of promise when trained by Gael Lemer, while looking like he could have more to offer when switching on better in the early stages of a race.
That included finishing a close fourth to Elektrix in a listed handicap hurdle at Auteuil before seeming to run flat next time behind Djin’s.
After a few moderate runs on the flat, he was moved to Jean-Pierre Daireaux and made a winning start for his new yard in a handicap hurdle at Pau.
He travelled a bit better through the first half of the race than had often previously been the case, and gradually made headway down the back straight for the final time to be in contention going towards two out.
Once shaken along turning the final bend, he picked up quite takingly to move to the front approaching the last and got the better of a battle on the run-in with Some Of Them while pulling clear of the rest.
It might be that it will be next season that Emid’io Pepe continues his improvement, but he makes a positive trainer switch and looked the type who would improve for further so the return to a longer trip should help his cause.
There is a concern that he won’t have experienced anything like the hustle and bustle of a big field handicap in Britain.
It might be too much of a culture shock for him, but I think he’s a little overpriced and any 9/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 1: 13:45 Aintree - Emid'io Pepe - 0.5pt Win
13:45 Aintree: Trustintimes - 0.5pt Win @ 14/1
Trustintimes steps markedly up in trip today and I think that could bring further improvement from him.
He won at Ascot after a break back in November and followed that with a good run behind Williethebuilder at Kempton.
Trustintimes looked a bit short of speed from quite a way out that day, but kept responding well to pressure and was staying on in the closing stages to finish second to a horse who followed up next time off an 8lb higher mark.
He’s another who will be new to this type of big field handicap, but I think there’s more to come from him over this trip and he comes into this on the back of a 104-day absence which I think is a positive for his chance.
Any 12/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 2: 13:45 Aintree - Trustintimes - 0.5pt Win
16:40 Aintree: Frankie John - 0.5pt Win @ 66/1
Frankie John missed an intended engagement at Fairyhouse due to unsuitable ground and I think this ground could see him run better than his big price suggests.
He ran well behind Doctor Steinberg at Galway earlier in the season on good to yielding ground, and got off the mark over hurdles on similar ground at Leopardstown when looking a stayer.
Since then he’s run in a couple of Grade 1s on more testing ground, and I think that didn’t suit him so those can be forgiven to some degree.
He also has the benefit of coming into this fresher than those who raced at Cheltenham and the application of cheekpieces for the first time could bring improvement too and give him a better chance than the market suggests of bridging the gap to his higher rated rivals.
Any 33/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 3: 16:40 Aintree - Frankie John - 0.5pt Win
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18:03 Wexford: Mahon's Way - 0.5pt Win @ 12/1
Mahon’s Way hasn’t reached the same heights over fences that he did over hurdles, but I think the market is underestimating the chance of him getting off the mark in this sphere in this handicap chase.
I think the trip was too sharp for him when he was sixth at Tipperary when last seen and this looks an ideal distance for him.
He also has a significant class edge over many of his rivals in this race and The Great Nudie coming out will take some of the early pressure for the lead off him so he may be able to get to the front easier than would have been anticipated.
It may be that he’s not as good as he was and he may need the run after a 283-day break, but I think he has a better chance than the market suggests and any 8/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 4: 18:03 Wexford - Mahon's Way - 0.5pt Win
19:08 Wexford: Patsy's Pride - 0.5pt Win @ 16/1
Patsy’s Pride is set to get in as a reserve for the closing handicap chase at Wexford and I think the market has overlooked the promise of his chasing debut last time.
That was at Clonmel and he travelled and jumped well but had to wait for a run and was shuffled back on the long run to two out.
He squeezed through a gap early in the home straight, but still wasn’t asked for any effort until after jumping two out and he couldn’t make any significant impression late on.
The way he travelled that day suggests the drop back in trip will be no issue for Patsy’s Pride and there could be more to come from him over fences. Any 12/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 5: 19:08 Wexford - Patsy's Pride - 0.5pt Win
20:30 Wolverhampton: Al Amirah - 0.5pt Win @ 25/1
It will probably be that Al Amirah will want further than this trip to be seen at her best, but I can’t get away from backing her at a big price in the closing race at Wolverhampton - given the eyecatching nature of her run two starts ago at Kempton.
She was held up that day and made some headway late on despite not being given a hard time with her jockey reporting that she hung.
She had little chance when held up in a slowly run race over course and distance last time, only making a little late headway to finish sixth.
This trip could be too sharp for her, but this is the first time that she’s been in a race where she has a realistic chance and none of her opposition look obvious types to take a big step forward on what they have shown so far.
Any 14/1 or bigger appeals.
Rhys' Selection 6: 20:30 Wolverhampton - Al Amirah - 0.5pt Win
Odds correct at time of publishing!
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