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2.30 Hamilton Fathom Five 

Ideal Cond. April, May, June, C3 or below 

Form in Cond. 9,1,1,1,1,8,9,9,10,1,3,1,1,1,19,13, 13, 5, 6, 5, 2, 8 9 (0/47, 12 places outside of this) 

Positives. Well, he has his 'conditions' again. He is 3 places from 4 runs at the track, but those places over 6f. 

Negatives. He is the old timer of the whole team and one decent run over 6f at this track three runs ago doesnt inspire much confidence in me. There are also a few front runners in the race and he wont be able to dominate. 

My Verdict. No Bet. I have given him one too many chances already. It is the nature of this approach that at times horses will come to the end of their time - he has just got too unpredictable for me at a time of year he usually runs well. Of course this doesnt stop you backing him, and he will go down in official results as a 1 point win bet, although not for the My Verdict set. Cue him hacking up now! Thankfully younger horses are always developing new profiles to replace such old timers - he is the oldest in the team, aged 11. 

3.30 Hamilton Jordaura 

Ideal Cond. 1-7 days; Good to Soft or Soft; Class 4 or below

Form in Cond. 1,1,5,1,1,6,4 (1/39, 13 places outside this) 

Positives. He has his conditions. The ground is Good to Soft, Soft in places and according to BBC Weather there is no rain forecast, and not much sun either. So, fingers crossed that it stays as it is, and doesnt dry out to Good (1/14, 7 places) It isnt impossible if it does but his best form is with soft in the title. He is handicapped to go well and didn't run too badly on his seasonal reappearance. He is 1/2 at the track. The trainer is in decent form too. 

Negatives. Well he hasnt won for a while but since his last win in 2013 he has only run in his optimum conditions twice. Connections are clearly still persevering. They run over a strange trip here, 65 yards over 8f. He is 0/5, 1 place over 8.5 furlongs, and he is arguably better over slightly further. 2/5, 3 places over 9f- for the sake of 135 yards I may overlook the distance.1/15, 5 places priced 10/1-20/1. 

My Verdict. 1 point win 14/1 - market not yet fully formed. My take is if he does find this trip a bit sharp he may struggle to place this time - but there is enough there for me to think he can be competitive, and that is enough for me. Returning within 7 days has been the time to catch him. I can personally withstand losing runs, which will happen when betting at these prices, and I would rather back to win than EW this time, but that is a personal preference. 

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Non Qualifiers