US racing tips: Tom Collins has a confident selection at Fonner Park on Tuesday

Songster
12.15 Fonner Park
2pts win

Tuesdays don't seem the same without Will Rogers Downs and although we still have US action courtesy of Fonner Park, the quality of racing at the Nebraska track is very low and therefore it's not a venue at which I would usually punt.

Nevertheless, I have watched most races there over the last two months despite the late start times (meeting runs from 10pm until 1.36am) and one horse caught my eye when looking at the fixture tonight.

That runner is Songster, who runs for trainer Jesse Compton in the $4,700 claimer (12.15), which is for three-year-olds and older horses who have not won three races or Nebraska-breds who haven't won four times.

Bred east of the border in Iowa, Songster fits into the first of those categories with a record of two wins from 16 career outings, his successes coming at Prairie Meadows last year.

Both of those victories came for local trainer Doug Anderson, but he switched barns to Compton soon after the second win in September and had plenty of time off before returning in early April at Fonner Park.

Songster worked better than ever in the build-up to his return with three impressive (for the grade) breezes over four furlongs, but blew out on the track with a sixth-placed finish after stalking the leaders.

He was given three weeks off and showed significant improvement to take second in the same grade having duelled on the front-end with a long odds-on favourite.

Ridden by Chris Fackler, who has just an 11 per cent strike-rate this meet and a rather unique style, Songster put away his well-fancied rival with an eyecatching change of gear down the back straight, only to pay for those exertions in the final half a furlong when run down by a well-rated rival.

Given he bobbled at the start, that was an extremely good performance and he is expected to build on that once again on just his third run back from a seven-month absence.

Another angle as to why he might win this contest is the fact that Fackler will be replaced in the saddle by Francisco Arrieta, who is by some considerable margin the best jockey at the track.

He doesn't ride here often as he's usually at tracks like Turf Paradise and Sunland Park in Arizona and New Mexico respectively, but Arrieta has decided to head to Fonner Park and it's like watching a professional rider against a bunch of amateurs.

Arrieta has ridden 12 winners from 52 rides in the last couple of weeks (23 per cent strike-rate), with a further 23 places. Connections seem to have finally realised he is in a class of his own and he is starting to pick up the best rides.

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