Spot Plays for British Racing at Ripon May 18, 2025

Sunday’s British Racing Money Back Special applies to racing from Ripon, just north of the city of Leeds. They have seven races on tap for Sunday, and the Money Back Special applies to the last four.

With that in mind, I’ll go through and offer a few spot plays for those races. Here are some runners you may want to back Sunday morning, knowing you have the benefit of some insurance behind you!

Race 4, 10:40 a.m. ET

I’m swinging for the fences on this one. Fluorescence is your likely favorite, and for good reason. She’s 2-for-2 to this point and came off a long break to dominate her rivals in her 2025 debut earlier this month. There’s every chance she’s good enough to win jumping up in class, but this isn’t a small step up. She’s going from Class 5 to Class 3, and that gives me some pause.

#7 Scatter Penny (15-1), meanwhile, has run twice at this level this season, and I’m taking the stance she just doesn’t care for the synthetic track at Southwell. Her two-back effort wasn’t awful, especially considering it was her first start since November. She also gets in light on weight at 117 pounds (meaning she gets 12 from Fluorescence). I certainly think an improved effort is in the offing here.

Race 6, 11:40 a.m.

This is another instance where I don’t necessarily hate the chalk. Copper and Five has something most of his opponents don’t, which is a recent victory. What scares me is the fact that he’ll tote 137 pounds (up seven from that May 5 win). That’s a lot of weight to give one’s opponents at any level, and he’s shown he’s a bit inconsistent, so I’ll take a shot against him and look for an alternative.

#8 Fifty Sent (7-1) is a consistent sort that’s found a home at this level, and he gets eight pounds in weight from the aforementioned favorite. His last-out clunker was a significant departure from the rest of his 2025 form, which includes a win and four other in-the-money finishes. The big question with him is the surface, as his recent efforts have all come on synthetic surfaces. However, if he brings his synthetic form to turf, I think he’s got a big shot.

Race 7, 12:10 p.m. ET

We come to the finale, and this is one spot where I simply can’t go against the chalk. #1 Barmyblade (2-1) seems like a new horse in 2025, with two wins in three starts. One of them came here at Ripon on May 9, when he prevailed by two lengths at this level and route. In that score, he topped several runners that also show up in the Sunday nightcap.

Barmyblade does carry 136 pounds here, and that’s not ideal, but he seems like an in-form horse doing what he wants to do. As much as I’d like to finish this off by giving you a bigger price, I can’t go against a runner that seems to be the most likely winner on the entire Ripon program.