I’ll keep the first one brief, as there is a bit of money for him.
Adelaide Budka has her team in scintillating form, with four winners from her last six runners, including handicaps at Chantilly and Longchamp in recent days.
She hasn’t had Moonwalk Step long, but he’s a soft-ground horse who gets his conditions (though he’d prefer it even softer) and after a couple of admittedly quiet runs, he has been found a very weak race in which he really should be winning if he can return to anything like the form he showed when winning a handicap off 34 at Saint-Cloud last November. This is very much his time of year and I’d say it is probably the weakest race he has contested in his career!
11.35am Strasbourg – 1pt win Moonwalk Step @ 4-1 (Paddy Power, William Hill, Betfair, 7/2 elsewhere)
The 1m2f Listed at Strasbourg (12.40pm) has the right favourite in Mansour, who has been in excellent form this year, winning twice at this level and then runner-up in a Group 3 at Baden-Baden last time.
However, he was beaten in all three visits to France last term and may be worth taking on with the David Menuisier-trained Winter Reprise.
Supplemented for this race, he hasn’t been seen since late June, but tends to go well fresh and has run four very good races from five starts when travelling over to France, the latest of them when just touched off in a class 1 at Saint-Cloud in May. That form reads well, as winner Kertez went close in a Group 3 next time, while the likes of Baby Rider and Millebosc were further back.
His front-running tactics are suited to this track and his yard is going well, having sent out a Listed winner at Saint-Cloud last week.
12.40pm Strasbourg – 1pt win Winter Reprise @ 13/2 (all firms)
