Ginger Joe - Top Betting Tips for Friday at Wetherby

Two strong fancies at Wetherby on Friday

Racing fans, welcome back to my column here on betting.co.uk. The Jumps season is now fully underway and the racing is just getting better by the day. I have two picks for you today at Wetherby before we head into the weekend, when there is some cracking racing action coming up.

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Betting tips for Friday at Wetherby

I have two selections for you on Friday that I can’t wait to see back on track. The first of them represents the only runner of the day for the Venetia Williams team. Every year when the rain comes, Venetia starts banging in the winners and I think it’s time to start siding with her for the next few weeks.

My second selection for Wetherby runs for Joe Tizzard in the final race of the day and this one really impressed me on debut at Warwick, where he absolutely bolted up and I can’t wait to see him over Hurdles.

15:00 - Handicap Chase 2m 3f – Frere Banbou @ 6/1 EW

This Handicap Chase looks very competitive and there are a few horses that have caught my eye in this race. War Lord seems to have been tried over the wrong trip for a while, so this drop back in trip and class, should see him perform better. He has some really good form in the book and finished fourth in the Arkle behind Edwardstone, so he’s plenty quick enough if ready to go first time out. But my concern with him, is that he has had wind surgery recently and may just need the run to put him right.

Shan Blue is the current favourite, but he is sure to have a big day planned for him later in the season, so I don’t think he is going to be fully tuned up either. Anyway, with this really soft ground and more rain coming, I think it’s time to jump on the Venetia Williams train and to back the eight-year-old Frero Banjou here. This horse has plenty of experience behind him and clearly acts better on a softer surface, my only concern being that he isn’t the strongest finisher, which has made him a touch frustrating to follow at times.

However, I think he will get a positive ride here and he is a very good jumper, so this could well be his for the taking, especially as a few of his main rivals are not likely to be fully ready first time out. As the only runner for Venetia on Friday, I’m going to take an each way chance on him.

16:10 - Novice Hurdle 2m – Diamond Ri @ 6/4 Win

The final race of the day is a really good-looking Novice Hurdle and at the time of writing there are 18 runners due to line up, of which only four are showing at single figure prices. These four look particularly smart though and Asta La Pasta has already had a win over Hurdles.

The current favourite, and my selection here, is Hurdles debutant Diamond Ri who is running for the Joe Tizzard team. His sire is Diamond Boy, who also sired L’homme Presse and Impaire Et Passe, so Diamond Ri is well-related and has been dubbed as an extremely exciting horse to go forward with.

He absolutely hacked up on debut at Warwick, on really soft ground, and the form of that race has worked out nicely. He looks big and powerful, he’s a strong traveller and I think Diamond Ri could turn out to be a very smart horse indeed and will be tough to beat on his Hurdles debut.

Betting Tips for Wetherby

• 15:00 Frero Banbou @ 6/1 EW
• 16:10 Diamond Ri @ 6/4 Win

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