Wolverhampton Placepot: Wednesday January 2

Matt Gardner is in action at Wolverhampton on Wednesday.

Timeform's Matt Gardner attempts to land the Placepot at Wolverhampton on Wednesday...

14:10 - A few of these have questions to answer so the best bet may be to side with a couple who seem likely to give their running, namely McBirney and Baan. The first mentioned is lurking on a dangerous mark and, although his stamina for this trip needs to be taken on trust, he is unlikely to be far away whilst Baan, in contrast, is a thorough stayer, was a good third at Lingfield last time and is another that has a decent mark with which to work. 

14:40 - We are now faced with a tricky claimer, with Desert Vision the first name to make the ticket. The Mick Easterby-trained nine-year-old is always a danger at this level and has put up a couple of fair placed efforts the last twice, so appeals as being the safest option. Noble Jack has gained all of his four wins on the polytrack and now returns to the surface after running below form on the turf at Leicester in October on his latest flat start, which may spark a return to form. 

15:10 - Forzarzi and Phils Wish are the pair to side with here, with the former taken to bounce back from a below-par run over C&D last time. That effort followed a good second, where he shaped better than the bare result, and with a strong pace likely here he ought to go well. Phils Wish ran his best race yet, on all-weather debut, in a C&D handicap last time and remains fairly unexposed so could do better still. 

15:40 - Balti's Sister is compiling a decent record at this venue but is taken on with Atlantis Crossing, who makes his debut for Roger Ingram here. The four-year-old won with something to spare at Kempton last time, travelling strongly and keeping on well, and could prove difficult to beat here when considering the ease of that success. 

16:10 - Our second banker of the afternoon is Miss Bunter, who is the unexposed one in the line-up and looks to have plenty in her favour here. The four-year-old made marked progress in each of her runs in maidens before getting off the mark, on handicap debut, over C&D last week. She should have more yet to offer and can go in again. 

16:40 - We could realistically bank on Admiralty here, who is still feasibly treated and looks to possess the speed to be effective at this shorter trip, but we haven't burnt too many lines throughout the afternoon so can afford to stick in the fairly enigmatic Dickie le Davoir, who had everything fall in his favour when winning here last month. A 4 lb rise for that success doesn't look overly harsh and there is potential for a fair pace here, so he may go well once more. 

Selections:
14:10 - 1, 7
14:40 - 2, 7
15:10 - 6, 9
15:40 - 2
16:10 - 4
16:40 - 3, 5
= 16 lines

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