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Frank Hickey has given his top tips ahead of racing at Market Rasen and Fairyhouse on Saturday.
Speaking on the latest episode of our From The Horse’s Mouth podcast, Our expert tipster has picked out five fancies for punters to consider – but will you follow his advice?
Check out all the latest Horse Racing tips and previews now
12.30pm, Fairyhouse – Roseys Hollow
ROSEYS HOLLOW won a Cork bumper on debut and was third behind Jon Snow at Leopardstown in March. She was then fourth at Naas on her reappearance behind Delvino, Castra Vetera and Royal Illusion in what was a very strong race. Expect her to improve for the run. She’s a nice horse and hopefully she can win.
2.05pm, Market Rasen – Edwardstone
I’m a massive fan of the name Langer Dan, as I’m sure all people from Cork will be, but for me EDWARDSTONE should be odds-on here. It’s only a five-runner race and he’s coming in on the back of unseating on his chase debut in a handicap off a mark of 141. He was fifth in the Greatwood off a mark of 142 and he’s down 1lb here. Sixth in last year’s Supreme, and this isn’t a very strong race compared to that. I would be very disappointed if he couldn’t win this. This is definitely a field he should be able to dominate and beat relatively easily.
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2.15pm, Fairyhouse – Front View
I really like this race, and I think we might be offering five places here so keep an eye on that. Chatham Street Lad couldn’t have been anymore impressive winning at Cork over 2m off a mark of 128. He was even better in the Caspian Cavier where he looked like he just jumped into the race. He was wildly impressive and his form has just taken off. He’s gone up another 1olbs to a mark of 151 but Simon Torrens takes 5lbs off. He will be hard to beat but he’s short enough that I’m going to take a chance on one that I think will probably drift a bit due to jockey bookings – FRONT VIEW for Joseph O’Brien.
O’Brien had quite an off sort of December and his horses weren’t really firing but they seem to be coming back to form in the last week or two. He’s had five winners from 16 runners in the last two weeks so starting to hit form and Front View is a horse I like. He was second in his bumper to Blue Sari at Gowran, then beat Jungle Junction at Punchestown after being brought down in the interim at Naas. He was second to Envoi Allen on hurdles debut then beat Uhtred at Cork. Uhtred went on to win a Listed bumper at Navan, so his form is really solid. He was 4/1 favourite for the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham off a mark of 139 but was a bit disappointing finishing in midfield so he’s just been brought along slowly over fences. You get the impression he’s being aimed at a Cheltenham handicap.
He was fifth to Assemble at Fairyhouse, beaten 37 lengths, and was then third, 22 lengths behind Franco De Port who obviously won the Grade 1 at Christmas. I thought he was very impressive a Fairyhouse the last day, despite only winning by a length. It was actually a lot more comfortable than that when beating Port Stanley and his mark of 136 is very workable. Jody McGarvey is on board while Mark Walsh is on Entoucas, who is another Joseph O’Brien runner and looks another obvious one to win a nice handicap this year. Front View is very well handicapped and I’m hoping tomorrow will be the day, but I would definitely keep an eye on him through the season.
2.40pm, Market Rasen – On The Blind Side
This is a tricky little race. I wouldn’t think connections would be overly keen for Mohaayed to win because he’s qualified for the Pretemps and he’s on a mark of 141. Were he to win this, he would blow his handicap mark. Vision Des Flos is with the Tizzard yard, which is a little bit out of form while Keeper Hill doesn’t like winning too often. Meanwhile, Looking Well and Chidswell are probably using this before going back over fences.
That means it’s between Lil Rockerfeller and ON THE BLIND SIDE, with On The Blind Side conceded 4lbs. If you’re looking at ratings, he’s therefore rated just 3lbs higher than Lil Rockerfeller so they’re very closely matched. On The Blind Side ran a cracker last week in the Relkeel Hurdle and if this doesn’t come too quickly for him, I would think he’s probably the one to beat.
Lil Rockerfeller ran a cracker on his reappearance after a year’s absence when beaten by a length at Newbury over 3m the last day. He shouldn’t bounce considering he’s had six or seven weeks to get over it, but I just fancy On The Blind Side. He’s been running really well this year, he’s won at Cheltenham, he was second to Come On Teddy who was extremely well handicapper and second to McFabulous who is probably a Grade 1 horse. I am just siding with On The Blind Side, but it’s a very close call.
Horse Racing tips: Frank Hickey and Paddy Power’s weekend NAPs
3.15pm, Market Rasen – Eileendover
This should be very competitive between the top two, and I wouldn’t rule out Merry Mistress either. She was very impressive winning on debut at Hereford by eight lengths, and the second won at Hereford during the week to give the form a bit of substance.
Anyone who was playing this ante-post would have got a nice price on Grangee, as I priced this on Monday and I wasn’t convinced the Irish horse would be able to travel. You could have got 4/1 then, but obviously she has gone over there. The comments when she won at Galway suggest that she surprised the yard. They say that she is small and I’m just not sure about her. Willie Mullins has got an unbelievable bumper team this year and you have to respect him.
But EILEENDOVER is a great name and she’s been brilliant in her two wins so far. She won by 29 lengths at Huntingdon and then 16 lengths under a penalty at Wetherby. Those races were shorter and she does have to prove that she can stay 2m but the way she travels and quickens is unbelievably impressive. If you told me she was definitely going to stay 2m, she would be odds-on here – even allowing for the Willie Mullins factor. She’s really good and I wouldn’t be surprised if she was running good races on the Flat through the summer.
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widget, while in-copy odds are accurate at time of publication but subject to change
Frank Hickey’s bet summary – Saturday, January 16
12.30pm, Fairyhouse – Roseys Hollow
2.05pm, Market Rasen – Edwardstone
2.15pm, Fairyhouse – Front View
2.40pm, Market Rasen – On The Blind Side
3.15pm, Market Rasen – Eileendover
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