It’s Lucky 31 time for a bonanza on ITV racing this weekend. The racing is coming from Beverley where the two-year-olds take centre stage, while Haydock and Chester make up the feast of action. I am at Beverley for ITV, and here are six super selections for you to follow.
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14:00 Beverley – Kyber Crystal
Beverley abandoned their meeting on Wednesday because the course was waterlogged and while it has had a few days to dry, conditions will still be quite testing for these two-year-olds. The could be a problem for some of the fillies too. Hester Prynne and Lady Ayresome are both badly drawn on the outside, but there have been winners of this from double digit draws, so all is not lost.
I was very tempted to go with May Blossom as an each-way option, as she lost her race at the start when running at York last time. I’m going for KYBER CRYSTAL though, on the back of her staying on second at Doncaster on soft ground behind Ebro River – who has franked the form by winning at Sandown last night. She is not overly big, but handles conditions and has a decent draw in box 4.
14:20 Haydock – El Astronaute
EL ASTRONAUTE is amazing and really rattles along and likes soft ground. He ticks a lot of the boxes and is going to be very hard to beat at a track that suits front runners. King’s Lynn was in receipt of 3lbs from him at Chester but couldn’t beat him. Off level weights, it’s hard to see him turning that form around.
Moss Gill has some good form to his name, but disappointed in the Group 1 sprint in Dubai at the World Cup weekend with first-time cheekpieces on. If he bounces back to form, he could be really interesting and rank the biggest danger to the selection.
14:55 Haydock – La Lune
Cabaletta was very disappointing last time she ran at Haydock on soft ground in the Lancashire Oaks. They have put blinkers on her now and that is a little concern. Oriental Mystique ran a really nice race at Goodwood has plenty going for her.
She is very well bred, but the ground is a slight concern as they took her out of an intended engagement before as the ground was too soft. Henry Candy’s LA LUNE handles soft ground, won at Nottingham last time and has a good chance in an open contest.
15:10 Beverley – Tipperary Sunset
I liked the way TIPPERARY SUNSET finished his race off when winning at Hamilton, when everything went right for him. He is penalised for that, which gives Ryan’s Party a chance to reverse the form and the prices reflect that.
Tipperary Sunset could be a bit of value against the likely favourite, but could just have improved for that run at Hamilton himself. The unknown in here is Straits of Moyle and connections had the winner of this in 2019 with Summer Sands. That one had run at York back then prior to this contest, so a market check may be in order.
15:30 Haydock – With Thanks
Safe Voyage found himself in very hot company on his last two starts and this is more his style. He is an eight-year-old though, and some younger blood is taking him on. It’s interesting that Jessica Harrington sends over Njord, who won the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot on Champions Day in soft ground. He has to respected.
WITH THANKS won the Group 3 Athasi Stakes over 7 furlongs at Naas at the backend of last season. Her shrewd trainer William Haggas has a knack of bringing horses along slowly. This filly strikes me as another one of these types.
15:45 Beverley – Sibaaq
SIBAAQ gets 11lbs in the weight-for-age scale allowance against the older horses as he’s a three-year-old. He handles soft ground as he showed when finishing second at Goodwood and has already won over course and distance in April, in a race that has worked out well. He is well drawn in three and if he gets out quickly will be hard to beat.
I was tempted to go for a bit of value as Queen’s Sargent is value against the favourite. He has form on soft ground, but he has to give a lot of weight away. The race should be run to suit and he might pick up the pieces if they go too hard early.
Mick Fitzgerald’s tips summary:
14:00 Beverley – Kyber Crystal
14:20 Haydock – El Astronaute
14:55 Haydock – La Lune
15:10 Beverley – Tipperary Sunset
15:30 Haydock – With Thanks
15:45 Beverley – Sibaaq
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