A whole host of chances for the Haggas team on Saturday but there are several worth concentrating on that look to have excellent chances and also offer some good early price value.
I will deal with the horses meeting by meeting starting at Newbury.
In the opener at 1.30 Montassib is the best horse in the race and although off the track for the best part of a year his record first time out is 3 from 3. More of a problem will be the drop back to 5f but there is a lot of pace in the race and on ground that is perfect for him he will be flying at the finish.
He is well drawn in stall 9 to track the pace which will be set by Rage of Bamby from stall 11. At around 5/1 he is worth an interest. First Instinct also goes to post. She will as always give it her best but without quite having the class for this level.
Recommended Bet 1pt win Montassib 1.30 Newbury
Best Bet on the day runs in the 2.05 where Dramatic Star can finally land a big Saturday handicap prize. His quest for one began in the summer of 2024 when favourite for the valuable Bet 365 Handicap over 14f at Haydock.
He slipped badly on the home turn and was almost pulled up. That dented his confidence and after a disappointing run at York he was gelded and given plenty of time to recover before winning a Class 3 handicap on the AW at Newcastle.
Again given plenty of time to recover he was an eyecatcher on his first outing of this season in the Shergar Cup and then went agonisingly close to getting his big handicap win back at Haydock.
Travelling through the race he looked the best horse but having drifted onto the far rail he raced on the slowest ground and was chinned on the line, fortunately for the Haggas team by stable mate The Reverend.
That form along with the Ebor Handicap is the best on offer in this contest but he is well drawn in stall 4 and his light campaign gives him an edge on many of the other 13 runners in the line up . Somerville Lodge run two in the race the other being Castle Cove but Marquand has chosen Dramatic Star and is confidently rated the Best Bet of a Very Busy Day for the yard. 6/1 was available but probably 5/1 will be the best price.
Recommended Bet 2pt win Dramatic Star 2.05 Newbury
In the 3.50 Masked Warrior makes his debut – you know the rest .
No Bet Recommended
In the 5.00 Eternal Force makes his handicap debut from a mark of 83 which doesn’t look excessive.
His maiden form behind Danger Bay looked good until the Bethell horse ran very badly when we he was expected to win at York and the other question mark is whether he will be suited to this straight 1m trip. Most of his runs so far suggesting he will need further.
This is competitive but is only a Class 4 . It is a race where the market will be a big guide. I am going to say NO BET but if the yard have had a couple of nice winners on the day mat well have an interest in the minutes leading up to the off.
Provisionally No BET RECOMMENDED
Up to Ayr
Caviar Heights finally gets some cut in the ground and a chance to prove he is worth the huge amount of money paid for him last season by taking the listed Doonside Cup at 1.50
It’s a race where every runner can be given a chance but if Caviar Heights can step up on his two runs on fast ground in the summer he can improve to land this valuable pot before heading off to Australia in the New Year.The 13/2 Bet 365 price was good value- now 5/1.
Recommended Bet 1pt win Caviar Hieghts 1,.50 Ayr 5/1 Generally
Next up is the Silver Cup at 2.25 and a big opportunity for Binhareer to make up for his unlucky Ascot run last time out. He looks vey likely to go off favourite but there are two doubts. One is his high draw of 19 – with some pace around him but most drawn low.
Secondly, and this is the same as for the Gold Cup, 3yo’s don’t have a great record with Alfa Hellenic last year only the third win by a 3yo in the last 15 years.
The yard have booked Oisin Orr who did the steering when he won over course and distance in June 2015. He is strongly fancied.
At around 5/1 with six places up for grabs it doesn’t make sense to let him run unbacked. Nariko ridden by Oisin Murphy is likely to attract significant market support so we can wait until 8.00am Saturday and get the 1-6 places at BoG where i expect to get at least 4/1. He should outclass these if the draw is Ok
Recommended Bet 1pt ew Binhareer 2.25 Ayr BoG 1-6 places
Finally Newmarket where there are 3 runners.
In the fillies handicap at 1.35 Bintjeddah has been very disappointing this season and although Newmarket should suit her she hasn’t shown enough to be considered for betting purposes.
No Bet Recommended
In the 2.45 the ultra consistent Carbine Harvester aims to get his first win on Turf. A 4 time winner on the AW he looks to have plenty of weight as a result.
Nevertheless, he ran with promise on his return at Ascot after a break, and will give his running as usual. He just looks too high in the handicap to consider for betting purposes.
No Bet Recommended
Finally in the 4.30 Golden Horse contests a very trappy novice and comes up against 2 other last time out winners that look to have won slightly better races.
No Bet Recommended
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