The Irish Grand National finishes off the usual spring series of marathon-staying steeplechases for another year. Fairyhouse is the host on Easter Monday and we have two selections for the Irish showpiece. As a general rule, it has paid to stick with novice or second-season chasers in recent years and…
1pt win Set Piece @14/1, 1pt win Jackstar @25/1, 15:35 Newmarket, Wednesday
Spring is in the air and flat racing is back at Newmarket for the Craven meeting, with the feature Craven Stakes one of the main domestic trials for the 2,000 Guineas over the same course and distance in May. Last year’s spoils went to a 9l winner in Masar, who…
2019 Scottish Grand National Tips: 1pt each-way Big River @11/1, 1pt each-way Impulsive Star @18/1, 15:35 Ayr, Saturday
The Scots follow up with their own edition of the Grand National this weekend. Not quite the same test as the Aintree event, nor the Tiger Roll-level of talent on show. The Scottish Grand National’s a more conventional handicapping race that is usually run on fast ground conditions. Favourites generally…
Scottish Grand National undercard tips: Redicean (9/1) and Big Time Dancer (10/1)
In the Scottish Champion Hurdle I’ve got a lot of time for the smart novice Mister Fisher, but at 11/2 I can’t say he’s much of a price and, in contrast, the 9/1 about REDICEAN is too good to ignore. As a juvenile he looked electric when running away with…
2019 Grand National Tips: 1pt each-way Rathvinden @9/1, 1pt each-way Joe Farrell @20/1, 0.75pts each-way Dounikos @28/1, 17:15 Aintree, Saturday
The Grand National is always a cracking betting occasion with 40 handicappers out to run in the ultimate staying marathon. So, where to start? Well, where else, but with the 2018 winner, Tiger Roll. It’s easy to run out of superlatives to describe how much this horse has done during…
Grand National undercard selections: The Big Bite (16/1), Apple's Jade (2/1) and William Henry (16/1)
The big one at Aintree is off at 17:15 on Saturday but there’s plenty of good racing on the undercard. I’m backing THE BIG BITE for his first attempt at 2m4f, as I suspect 16/1 is a generous price. He jumped poorly two starts ago at Kempton and notably improved…
Day one Aintree tips: La Bague Au Roi (2/1), Song For Someone (20/1) and Verdana Blue (14/1)
Aintree’s Grand National meeting begins on Thursday with four consecutive Grade Ones, which sentimentally feature several 2pts win favourites from past and present. The first and most obvious value bet of the day is LA BAGUE AU ROI at 2/1 in the 2m4f novices’ chase that opens the card. We…
Dubai World Cup Night selections: Stormy Liberal (10/1), Belvoir Bay (40/1) and Magic Wand (6/1)
With Cheltenham still fresh in the memory and the Grand National meeting less than a week away, we’ll take our eyes off the jumps momentarily for our annual dip into the desert flat racing oasis of Meydan, Dubai, which hosts its classy World Cup card and features three turf Group…
1pt each-way Ballydine @9/1, 15:35 Uttoxeter, Saturday
Now we all know the Midlands Grand National on this Saturday is in complete contrast to the week just experienced at The Festival. And no race portrays that better than the gruelling, four mile two furlong trip at Uttoxeter. Ms. Parfois could take all the beating based on her novice…
Gold Cup day tips: Clan Des Obeaux (10/1) and Rhinestone (14/1)
We’ve had four good winners this week with Frodon’s dramatic Ryanair win the undoubted highlight, and it’ll be a profitable Cheltenham regardless of what happens on Friday. However, with 25% of the Festival left to go there’s still time to make a good Cheltenham into a great one. Gold Cup…