Mick Fitzgerald’s Saturday ITV Racing tips
13:15 Ascot – Bective Abbey / Samuel Spade (each-way)
13:36 Wincanton – Burdett Road
13:50 Ascot – Jingko Blue
14:05 Haydock – Whistleinthedark
14:25 Ascot – Moveit Like Minnie (each-way)
14:40 Haydock – Nemean Lion
15:00 Ascot – Terresita
15:15 Haydock – Yeah Man
15:37 Ascot – Pic D’Orhy
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
13:15 Ascot – Bective Abbey / Samuel Spade (each-way)
Bective Abbey runs off a mark of 144 and could be well handicapped. He hasn’t run since April but I don’t see that being a problem. Samuel Spade is of interest at an each-way price as he usually runs a solid race. It looks a good opportunity for Bective Abbey to score though.
13:36 Wincanton – Burdett Road
Burdett Road should take a bit of beating around this track in the four-runner Kingwell Hurdle. He ran a hell of a race in the Christmas Hurdle behind Constitution Hill and Lossiemouth at Kempton and faces nothing like that here. Golden Ace won the mares’ novices hurdle at the Festival last season and is smart on her day. She drops back in trip now to 2m but Burdett Road should have too many guns for her.
13:50 Ascot – Jingko Blue
Jingko Blue is a very good jumper and only disappointed at Cheltenham last season. He was better over his obstacles than Lowry’s Bar when beating that opponent last time. However, Lowry’s Bar gets 5lbs this time and if he hadn’t made a mistake, he would have run Jingko Blue very close but I just favour Nicky Henderson’s runner again.
14:05 Haydock – Whistleinthedark
ITV cover three races from the Lancashire track and the bottom weight Whistleinthedark showed a real return to form on his last start. If that hasn’t taken too much out of him he can go one better in this Veterans Chase.
14:25 Ascot – Moveit Like Minnie (each-way)
Altobelli looks the right favourite after his success at this track last time. The cheekpieces helped him and they’re on again and the ground won’t be an issue. One at a price for an each-way play is Nigel & Willie Twiston-Davies’ Moveit Like Minnie. He was third to Altobelli last time beaten just under five lengths and stays on the same mark, with Finn Lambert taking off another 3lb. A repeat of his last run should see him hit the frame again at least.
14:40 Haydock – Nemean Lion
The 3m Rendlesham Hurdle features former winner Botox Has but the ground is very different now to when he won. Beauport looks the one to beat but his price reflects that. I’d rather take a punt on Nemean Lion who was a good winner for us last time at Windsor over 2m 4f. He steps up to 3m now and the ground isn’t going to be that soft and that could hinder the out-and-out stayers in this contest. He may just spring a surprise.
15:00 Ascot – Terresita
I’m a fan of Hasthing but the ground might be against him now. He’s better with a bit of ‘cut’ in the ground. I’d sooner take a punt on Terresita who was an impressive winner last time but carries a 6lb penalty now. She readily beat Hitman (who has run well since) over 2m 5f and if she starts to roll over this 3m trip, she could take a bit of stopping.
15:15 Haydock – Yeah Man
This Grand National Trial looks an ‘upside down’ contest with a lot of the runners ‘out of the handicap’. Jubilee Express is a course and distance winner which is a huge plus. Val Dancer’s form is closely matched with his on Welsh Grand National form, when they were first and second but on very different ground than they want. Yeah Man is also a course and distance winner. He has form on better ground and the conditions of the race and ratings favour Gavin Cromwell’s Irish challenger.
15:37 Ascot – Pic D’Orhy
It’s hard to look beyond Pic D’Orhy as it’s a home game for him given his course record at Ascot. He’s actually won his last three starts here, including this contest 12 months ago. I’d worry about Corbett Cross’ jumping around this track. His form is good but I’m not so sure about his fluency over the obstacles at times. L’Homme Presse reopposes Pic D’Orhy again and the latter may just scoot away from him at the end like he did in this race last season.
Mick Fitzgerald’s Saturday ITV Racing tips
13:15 Ascot – Bective Abbey / Samuel Spade (each-way)
13:36 Wincanton – Burdett Road
13:50 Ascot – Jingko Blue
14:05 Haydock – Whistleinthedark
14:25 Ascot – Moveit Like Minnie (each-way)
14:40 Haydock – Nemean Lion
15:00 Ascot – Terresita
15:15 Haydock – Yeah Man
15:37 Ascot – Pic D’Orhy
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at the time of publishing but subject to change.
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