Two on the card at Bath this afternoon, starting with Bay May in the 1m3.5f handicap (4.40pm).

Brought along steadily in maiden/novice company over 1m/1m2f last summer, she ran her best race of the three on her final outing at Windsor, finishing a staying-on sixth.

Her yard has made a fine start to the year (six winners already, compared to seven in total for each of the past two years) and she really caught the eye on her reappearance over 1m4f at Lingfield Park last month, where she kept on nicely from off the pace, having been slowly away.

The 2lbs drop gets her in nicely at the top of the 0-55 rating band and with regular rider Jack Mitchell unavailable (riding at Chelmsford this evening), he has turned to a bang in-form apprentice Marco Ghiani, who claims a valuable 3lbs.

Brett Johnson is 4-21 with three year olds in turf handicaps in the past five seasons and Bay May looks a big price to build on that good record.

4.40pm Bath – 1pt win, 0.5pt place Bay May @ 15/2 4 places (Paddy Power, Betfair, 7-1 Skybet (5 places), William Hill, Ladbrokes, Coral, Boylesports (all 4 places)

 

The mile handicap (5.10pm) has attracted 14 runners, but it is a weak enough affair and Wind In My Sails is well worth chancing on reappearance.

He is two from three at the course, the latest of them on his last visit here in July 2019, off a 14lbs higher mark.

His record suggests he is on the downgrade these days, which is understandable given he is now a nine year old, but his last run on turf was off a mark of 80, 15lbs higher than today’s, and he did finish second on the AW (on which he is 0-14) in October off 70.

He hasn’t run since November, but won first time out in 2019 and it is encouraging that his yard has started the year in good form.  Interesting, they had a well-backed winner at Doncaster’s opening meeting last month, having his first run of the year and with Callum Hutchinson on board, who takes the ride on Wind In My Sails today, claiming a very valuable 7lbs.

His record over a mile on GF ground reads 31153041 and he encounters class 6 opposition for the first time in his career, so there are plenty of reasons to expect a big run.

5.10 Bath – 1pt win Wind In My Sails @ 8-1 (all firms)