Last chance for punters to bolster their festival funds

It's the traditional last chance for punters to get some cash in their pockets to go to war with at the Cheltenham Festival and Taunton and Stratford will both have decent Monday afternoon crowds boosted by those warming up for the four-day bash in the Cotswolds.

Opportunities do not come much more last-gasp than the closing Family Easter Raceday 26th March Mares Standard NH Flat Race (5.10) at Taunton, where Rosy World could well reward her supporters.

Suzy Smith's five-year-old was not unfancied when going down by just a head to Buildmeupbuttercup on her debut at Ascot last month and this looks a lesser assignment.

Sussex-based Smith, who has one runner at Cheltenham – Clondaw Cian in the four-miler on Tuesday – is hopeful she can head to the festival on a high.

She said: "It was no surprise how Rosy World ran first time as she's always shown plenty of ability and we had a few quid on. She's out of Material World, who I trained to be second in the Pertemps Final at Cheltenham and was rated 149, so she gets it from her.

"Rosy World got mentally switched on at Ascot and if she reproduces that effort there's no reason why she can't go one better. The front two kicked well clear that day so the form is probably above average."

Hey Bud to be punters' pal in Stratford finale

There is a 7.30am inspection at Stratford, and Jeremy Scott will be praying the fixture is on as he appears to have found a penalty kick for Hey Bud in the closing Betvictor Cheltenham 'Jump Starter' Maiden Open NH Flat Race (5.00).

The five-year-old is the first foal of the mare Azione, who Scott trained to win a handicap hurdle at his local track Exeter in 2011, and her offspring showed promise for the future when second in a similar contest to this at Taunton in January.

Behind the Alan King-trained Smith's Boy that day, Hey Bud faces nothing of that standing in this five-runner affair in which his main rival looks to be the ex-Irish trained Ballinahinch.

Hamilton on the grid at Chelmsford

Sir Hamilton is the star turn at Denis Quinn's tiny Newmarket operation just off the busy High Street and the son of Canford Cliffs is out to stop the traffic again at Chelmsford when he takes on just four opponents in the Bet Exacta At totesport.com Handicap (6.15).

After back-to-back wins at this trip of a mile, the three-year-old looked a non-stayer when stepped up an extra two furlongs at the Essex track last time when he could finish only fourth behind Beautiful Memory.

Before that, Sir Hamilton had defied a penalty when scoring at Kempton, the form of which has worked out well as the runner-up Briscola, third-placed Aquarium and fourth home Petruchio have all scored since.

On this occasion Quinn is most worried about local rival Artieshow, trained by Marco Botti, but expects his contender to go close. He said: "Sir Hamilton has shaped as if he'd get further than a mile but he obviously didn't stay last time so we're dropping him back.

"Marco's horse landed the other division of the novice that he won at Kempton in exactly the same time as Sir Hamilton, but our horse won easy that day so should be competitive. All being well, the plan would be to take him to a mile handicap at the Newmarket Craven meeting after this."

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