Category: Horse Racing Tips

This category is all about horse racing tips.

Argento Chase Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It was heavy going at Ascot and Haydock last weekend, in more ways than one! Our selections got bogged down in the mud with the exception of Sire De Grugy who advertised his chance in the Queen Mother Champion Chase with a classy victory.

I hope that some of you managed to get the 25-1 ante-post price on him for the festival! He is now a miserly 11-4 and I wouldn’t be backing him at those odds. I still have reservations about his jumping at Cheltenham and Sprinter Sacre could yet return to the peak of his powers. I’d be optimistic of some place money even if the favourite does still make it to the race.

I’m after some more ante-post value this week with Rocky Creek and Triolo D’Alene in the Gold Cup. Both horses are due to run in the Argento Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday. Paddy Power have already gone non-runner/no bet on the four championship races at the festival and you have to applaud them for it. Naturally, some of their prices are a bit skinny by comparison to the other firms but 33-1 with a run Rocky Creek for the big race will do me.

He has a lot of improvement to find if he is to be competitive with the likes of Bobs Worth and Silviniaco Conti but Paul Nicholls is no mug and was happy to fork out the entry fee. He gave the horse plenty of work ahead of the Hennessy Gold Cup and gave the impression that he was expecting a victory. In the event he had to settle for the runner-up spot behind Triolo D’Alene but time may show that to be a fair effort.

Having tipped Triolo D’Alene at 25-1 for the Hennessy, I’m reluctant to pass him over here but I just wonder about him if the ground gets really soft. Henderson was quick to pull him out of the Ascot race won by Houblon Des Obeaux and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him diverted again here. BetVictor are also offering a refund on non-runners for Cheltenham and go 40-1 about Triolo D’Alene for Cheltenham.

I was hopeful that Theatre Guide would boost the Hennessy form when he ran at Cheltenham last time but he found Monbeg Dude in excellent form. I must admit that I had the Dude down as something of a mud lark but he looked a different horse that day and readily accounted for Theatre Guide.

Rocky Creek at 5-2 Paddy Power

Ante-post Cheltenham Gold Cup* Non-runner no bet

Rocky Creek at 33-1 (each-way) Paddy Power

Triolo D’Alene at 40-1 (each-way) BetVictor

Racing Preview Saturday 18th January

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Ascot and Haydock provide the pick of the action this weekend. I have already previewed the Clarence House Chase and the Peter Marsh Chase but there are plenty of other tempting races to bet on.

A three-mile hurdle is going to take some getting tomorrow and I’m siding with Carole’s Spirit in the 1.50 at Ascot after seeing her battle back at Haydock. She looked beaten two out but just refused to give in and fought back to win well. She absolutely bolted up at Plumpton in similar ground and can upset the favourite Mickie.

I was very impressed with Ptit Zig’s effort when he carried 11st 12lb into second place in the Ladbroke Handicap Hurdle at Ascot. The form hasn’t really been put to the test yet but he should be too good for Melodic Rendezvous in the Haydock Champion Hurdle Trial on Saturday.

Paul Nicholls is eager to send him over a fence so he would have to win comfortably to be allowed to run in the Champion. Soft ground is also a pre-requisite and that is not guaranteed in March, even if it does sometimes feel like the rain is never going to stop! I think the 50-1 will be cut in half if he wins well tomorrow so I’ll risk a small each-way bet.

Over at Ascot, I’m going to take a chance on Citizenship in the handicap hurdle for Venetia Williams. The stable continues in fine form and this horse was a very smart hurdler a couple of years ago for the Harrington stable in Ireland. He picked up a £50,000 prize and then ran in the County Hurdle but was never sighted in a muddling race.

He lost his way subsequently but looked in rude health when winning at Exeter and has been diverted here from the Lanzarote Hurdle. I’m slightly concerned that the heavy ground was the reason for his withdrawal but he has a couple of furlongs less to travel here and is worth a bet at 9-1.

Williams and Treadwell could land a big race double as Renard has decent claims in the next. He won well at Chepstow in similar ground and will handle it better than most of these.

Ptit Zig 2.40 Haydock at Evens William Hill

Ptit Zig (Champion Hurdle) at 50-1 each-way Stan James

Carole’s Spirit 1.50 Ascot at 4-1 Bet365

Citizenship 2.25 Ascot at 9-1 Coral

Renard 3.00 Ascot at 5-1 Stan James

*Sire De Grugy 3.35 Ascot 6-4

*Merry King 3.15 Haydock 11-2

*Chance Du Roy 3.15 Haydock 10-1 (each-way)

*Ante-post

Peter Marsh Chase Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Wedding Ring (5-2) and Emirates Flyer (4-1) gave us a very profitable day at Meydan on Thursday. Wedding Ring earned a 25-1 quote for the 1000 Guineas, although I still rate her below stable companion Ihtimal for the fillies’ classic. Perhaps Godolphin mean business this season after the nightmare of 2013.

It’s a far cry from Dubai to Haydock on a saturated Saturday but the Peter Marsh Handicap Chase is our next big race preview. My regular readers will know that I’ve been following Merry King and I’m giving him a third and final chance here. He ran well enough in the Hennessy to finish fifth to Triolo D’Alene, seemingly being outpaced in the home straight after closing up turning for home.

That looked a decent enough trial for the Welsh National but he produced an almost identical performance. He jumped safely and moved on to the heels of the leaders three out but made no further progress, again having to settle for fifth place. Jonjo O’Neill is sticking a first-time visor on him on Saturday, he’s run well at the track before and looks worth another chance at 11-2 or thereabouts.

I’m also going to support Aintree winner Chance Du Roy at 10-1 with Coral. That looks like outstanding each-way value with the Philip Hobbs stable in great form at present. The form of the Becher Chase is nothing to shout about with the veteran Baby Run in second but Mr Moonshine (3rd) did win convincingly at Musselburgh next time.

Vino Griego is top weight, although Joshua Moore takes off a handy 3lbs. He bolted up at Sandown but I’m just not sure how he will run at Haydock. He’s handled Ascot and Cheltenham well enough in the past but can be a bit awkward at his fences and he may not like some of these big black obstacles.

Venetia Williams runs Katenko who is trying to work his way back to form after suffering an injury last season. I felt that everyone got rather carried away by talking about him as a Gold Cup horse and I’d like to have seen more from him when he trailed home behind Unioniste at Aintree.

Vintage Star was just behind Merry King at Chepstow but I’ll be disappointed if the O’Neill horse can’t beat him here whilst Sydney Paget dropped out tamely at Wetherby. It wasn’t a great Rowland Meyrick by any means and perhaps Sydney Paget was flattered by his wide margin win over course and distance previously.

Merry King 11-2 Coral

Chance Du Roy 10-1 Coral

Meydan Thursday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Guineas meeting at Newmarket may seem a long way off to those of us sheltering in storm-lashed Britain but Sheikh Mohammed and Godolphin are already sifting through their classic contenders. The meeting at Meydan stages trials for both the 1000 and 2000 Guineas and there are plenty of familiar names on show tomorrow.

Wedding Ring was as genuine a two-year-old as you could wish to see last season, ending her season by picking up two valuable sales races at Newmarket. I am not a fan of those races but Sheikh Mohammed won’t have been complaining as Wedding Ring picked up a cool £400,000 for her efforts.

She raced six times, beating Ihtimal on her debut before finishing fifth at Royal Ascot. Ihtimal went on to prove the better filly and is on my short list for classic success in 2014 but Wedding Ring improved as the season went on. She only held Oxsana by a neck over six furlongs but extended that to almost two and a half lengths over seven.

Autumn Lily was a bit unpredictable with three wins and two duck eggs in her first season. She is undoubtedly useful and it is interesting that she is rated 3lbs higher than Wedding Ring. I’ll side with the latter and hope that she continues where she left off at Newmarket.

Emirates Flyer is the form horse in the 2000 Guineas trial but this is an altogether tougher assignment with 18 runners. The son of Acclamation showed that he is not fazed by big fields when just failing in the Redcar two-year-old trophy on his final start. He had previously chased home 2000 Guineas ante-post favourite Kingman at Sandown. He did look a little outclassed that day but time may show that to be no disgrace.

There are lots of unknown quantities here including the two trained by South African Mick de Kock. Safety Check was also useful as a two-year-old whilst Figure Of Speech lost his form after some early promise. I haven’t given up on Nezar who can be forgiven his closing effort at Newmarket but may want further than this seven furlongs now.

Cambridgeshire runner-up Code Of Honor has joined the ranks of Godolphin after a promising season with Henry Candy. He ran a blinder when just failing in the Cambridgeshire and looks capable of stepping up into Listed class this year. This looks an ideal starting point and Kieren Fallon will be doing the pushing and shoving.

Wedding Ring @5-2 Bet365

Emirates Flyer @4-1 Bet365

Code Of Honor @9-2 Bet365

Clarence House Chase Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The two-mile Clarence House Chase at Ascot on Saturday provides Sire De Grugy with a great opportunity to bag a second Grade 1 this season. Gary Moore’s chestnut won the Tingle Creek at Sandown in good style and has since followed up in the Desert Orchid Chase at Kempton.

His victory in the latter was overshadowed by the unfortunate end to the winning run of Sprinter Sacre who was pulled up with an irregular heartbeat. Fortunately the signs are encouraging that this was an isolated episode and Nicky Henderson’s stable star could well return to action in time for Cheltenham. Of course, should the Lambourn trainer have any concerns about his horse, he will not hesitate to give the festival a miss and start afresh next season.

The Queen Mother Champion Chase must surely be on the agenda for Sire De Grugy with doubts surrounding the odds-on favourite. He was beaten at Cheltenham by Kid Cassidy earlier this season but I’m convinced that his defeat was down to his erratic jumping that day. He ballooned a couple and virtually pulled himself to the front before tiring in the closing stages.

Gary Moore believes that the course does not suit him and that he is a better horse on a flat track. Ascot should not pose any problems on Saturday and his jumping has been much better in his last two races. He had four lengths to spare over Somersby in the Tingle Creek and ought to confirm the form on the same terms. Any ease in the going will be in his favour although Somersby did win here in 2012 and will keep battling to the line.

Oiseau De Nuit finished second at Kempton but was possibly flattered by his proximity with Sire De Grugy going on much earlier than intended. The winner jumped to his left over the last three fences and was probably idling in front. Jamie Moore will be looking to get a good lead into the race on Saturday and deliver his challenge between the final two fences.

Strictly on the ratings, the Irish raiding party of Hidden Cyclone, Days Hotel and Special Tiara have 10lbs and more to find with the favourite. Hidden Cyclone finished in front of some top notch two-milers at Leopardstown last time out but he was previously well beaten in a Cheltenham handicap and needs to improve.

Kid Cassidy ran no race at all in Ireland and seems to reserve his best for Cheltenham. The one horse that concerns me slightly is the novice Fox Appeal. He won very easily at this course last time out from Raya Star although it is possible that the runner-up did not give his true running. Alan King’s horses have been under the weather of late.

Fox Appeal is undoubtedly useful having been slightly unlucky to be caught by Wonderful Charm at Wincanton on his previous start. Trainer Emma Lavelle did us a big favour when pitching the novice Shotgun Paddy against more experienced rivals last weekend and this fellow is no slouch either. Whether he is quite ready to take on Sire De Grugy at levels I’m not sure.

Sire De Grugy at 13-8 888Sport (6-4 Bet365)

Exeter Tuesday Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

We had a great weekend with Shotgun Paddy (9-1), Saphir Du Rheu (6-1) and Deputy Dan (11-4) all doing the business. All three look to have a great future, although it was slightly worrying to hear that Deputy Dan had sustained a nasty gash during the race at Warwick. Hopefully he will be fine and can run a big race in one of the novice events at the Cheltenham festival in March.

Shotgun Paddy confirmed his trainer’s belief that he needed a trip to bring out the best in him and the four-mile National Hunt Chase is a likely target for him. The Grand National has been touted as a long-term objective but I’d have thought that can wait for another season. His jumping can be low and flat which is not ideal for Aintree. Given his ability to handle heavy ground, I’d keep him in mind for the Welsh National in December.

The weather continues to play havoc with the fixture list and a soggy Exeter keeps the show on the road on Tuesday. It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the stables in and out of form with Cheltenham creeping ever closer and Venetia Williams has her string firing on all cylinders. She won four races in row at Plumpton recently and bagged another double at the Sussex course on Monday.

She and Aidan Coleman also teamed up with a nice priced double at Warwick on Saturday and Dungeness turns out quickly under a 7lbs penalty. He was always travelling well at the front at the weekend and responded well when challenged to finish well on top at the line. Tomorrow’s race is over a further half mile and he must now shoulder top weight.

There are a couple of other horses to note in the race in Catcher Star and Residence And Spa. Both improved enormously last time out, Catcher Star overcoming a last flight blunder to beat subsequent winner Getabuzz and Residence And Spa staying on strongly over three miles at Taunton. Both will be hoping for proper gallop but I’m hoping Dungeness has further improvement in him.

The Veterans Handicap Chase looks like an ideal opportunity for Nick Gifford’s Tullamore Dew to win his first race since 2011. The chestnut was a creditable second in the Rowland Meyrick at Wetherby last time and comfortably holds Junior on that form. The rest of the field look moderate, although I’m a little wary of the Williams runner Ballyoliver with just 10st 4lb to carry.

Tullamore Dew at 9-2 Coral

Dungeness at 7-2 Bet365