Alex Hammond’s Tip of the Day: Sky Sports’ Alex goes for 11/8 chance Well Sharp in the 15:55 at Wetherby Bet with Skybet.

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After a highly encouraging debut in a backend Newbury maiden on his sole start at two, Swan Song (7:15) is fancied to get off the mark in Salisbury’s 6f fillies’ maiden this evening.

Andrew Balding’s daughter of Green Desert is out of the top-class sprinter Lochsong and she showed plenty of pace when travelling strongly on the sharp end at Newbury. That race has worked out pretty well with the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th all winning since and it will be disappointing if Swan Song can’t make a winning reappearance.

Earlier in the day, Jonjo O’Neill unleashes a smart prospect over hurdles in the shape of Well Sharp (3:55) in Wetherby’s 2m4f novices’ hurdle.

JP McManus paid 250,000 Guineas for the Selkirk gelding, who won a maiden at Ayr and a Ripon handicap for Michael Dods and Andrew Tinkler. The four-year-old ran his best two races on the Flat when third to Brown Panther in Royal Ascot’s King George V Stakes (off 90) and when fifth behind Fulgur (91) in a hot contest at Newmarket’s July meeting.

He could be a class above this lot and connections will be very hopeful he can start to pay back his huge price tag with immediate effect.

Thursday’s selections:
3:55 Wetherby Well Sharp
7:15 Salisbury Swan Song

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Rio Ferdinand’s omission and the inclusion of John Terry were the main talking points as Roy Hodgson announced his 23-man squad for Euro 2012 last week but the new manager’s selection did little to impress bookies, BetVictor responding by pushing England out to 11/1 to win the forthcoming European Championship.

The ‘Three Lions’ remain unchanged at 9/5 via Boylesports to top Group D while Paddy Power quote them at 1/2 to qualify for the knockout stages and punters will get a chance to see how Hodgson’s England will potentially shape up in Poland and the Ukraine as they face Norway in a friendly clash this weekend.

The Oslo contest is 11/10 with William Hill to go the way of the visitors, BetVictor rate the hosts at 13/5 and it’s 9/4 courtesy of Betfred to finish all square, a result that could prove popular given that it’s Hodgson’s first match in charge and the home side are no pushovers.

Stalemate fanciers might also like the look of Stan James’ 11/2, posted against a 1-1 scoreline, it’s 4/1 (Skybet) to be level at the end of each half and the ‘Three Lions’ are available at 1/2 in bet365’s ‘Draw No Bet’ market.

England however, could respond well to the appointment of a new boss, as many club teams do, and they’re 3/1 with Ladbrokes to make a winning start under Hodgson by carding a victory by a one-goal margin.

More specifically, bet365 quote odds of 8/1 for England to finish on the right side of a 2-1 scoreline and in what looks set to be a close affair, William Hill mark 9/2 against an away success following on the back of a drawn first period.

Knowing that his star striker will miss the first two Euro 2012 fixtures through suspension and is carrying a knock, Hodgson will leave Wayne Rooney out of his starting line-up, presenting an opportunity for the other three centre forwards to impress.

Rooney’s Manchester United team mate Danny Welbeck is 6/1 via Coral to break the deadlock in Oslo, where Andy Carroll and Jermain Defoe are also 6/1 shots, at Stan James and Boylesports respectively, to open the scoring.

Those seeking slightly higher odds meanwhile, might prefer to back Theo Walcott in the same market, at 10/1 with Ladbrokes, especially as it isn’t immediately clear which of his trio of front men Hodgson will start with.

Recommended Bets:
England to beat Norway by a one-goal margin – 3/1 (Ladbrokes)

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Republic of Ireland begin their preparation for Euro 2012 with a warm-up clash against Bosnia and despite the absence of three senior defenders, namely Richard Dunne, Sean St Ledger and John O’Shea, the Irish are odds-on at 10/11 with Ladbrokes to prevail in Dublin.

The visitors, who agonisingly missed out on qualification for the tournament in a play-off, are bet365’s 4/1 outsiders and given that Giovanni Trapattoni’s charges enjoy home advantage that looks about right.

Nevertheless, a close encounter looks inevitable given that the hosts won’t want to exert themselves too much and risk injury ahead of the finals, so a case can be made for a home win by a one-goal margin, available via Skybet at 5/2.

Elsewhere, Coral chalk Trapattoni’s men up at 5/1 to bag the only goal of the game at the Aviva Stadium, where it’s 2/1 courtesy of Blue Square for the hosts to lead at the end of each half and Boylesports price Wolves centre-forward Kevin Doyle at 6/1 to notch first.

Recommended Bets:
Republic of Ireland to beat Bosnia 1-0 – 5/1 (Coral)

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Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona suffered Champions League and La Liga heartbreak and the manager will be desparate to bow out with a win in the Copa del Rey, despite a late draw with Betis in the season’s conclusion.

The Catalans are just 1/3 with Stan James to win in 90 minutes while Bilbao, also smarting after a solid defeat in the Europa League, are 9/1 outsiders with BetVictor.

It’s hard to see beyond a Barcelona win in 90 minutes and with Bilbao failing to score for 5 straight games, Paddy Power’s 6/4 on a win to nil for Guardiola holds lots of appeal.

In the handicaps, Coral are 5/6 for a Barcelona win by two or more while Sportingbet go 2/1 for a comprehensive win of three or more goals. In the correct score market, Ladbrokes are 8/1 about a 3-0 win for Barca, which would be a 4th such defeat for Bilbao in 5 outings.

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Craig Levein will be hoping to find out a few more things about his Scotland squad ahead of the start of qualifying for World Cup 2014 in autumn, as he takes them across the Atlantic to face a solid United States side.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the hosts are Betfred’s 8/11 favourites ahead of the Jacksonville clash while the Scots are Skybet’s 9/2 outsiders and it’s 3/1 with bet365 to finish all square but with this likely to be little more than a learning experience for the visitors it’s hard to see past the home side.

Jurgen Klinsmann’s charges are just 7/4 via Ladbrokes to prevail ‘to nil’ and 7/1 courtesy of Blue Square to strike twice without reply in what could be a fairly routine success for the USA who have won three out of three in 2012.

The last of those victories came against Italy and the man that won that one for them can make an impact in this one as well. Fulham attacker Clint Dempsey has enjoyed an excellent Premier League campaign and looks too big at 13/2 (Betfred) to break the deadlock.

Recommended Bets:
Clint Dempsey to score first – 13/2 (Betfred)

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