The Weekend Wager: Three tips for Newbury and Warwick on Saturday

There's some superb National Hunt racing taking place this weekend, and our resident tipster Raceolly is back for this week's edition of The Weekend Wager, and he's selected his best three bets from Newbury and Warwick...

13:50 Newbury - Daily Rewards With Betfair Handicap Hurdle

Sussex Ranger's two runs over course and distance over fences have resulted in a length defeat and an 11 length win - the win coming off a mark 5lbs higher. 277 days off before a run at Exeter then a further 411 days off before returning over Christmas followed and a 13lb drop down the handicap during those runs. He returns to hurdles for the first time since 2019 here, and it's a discipline he had a handicap mark of 142 over and won off a mark of 130 with a 30% win rate. He ran 160-rated We Have A Dream close in a Grade 1 at Chepstow before running in a Triumph Hurdle in 2018 and a handicap mark of 121 could be very lenient now returning to hurdles at a big double-figured price.

15:15 Warwick - Virgin Bet Warwick Castle Handicap Chase

The King Of May won off a mark of 131 and has a placing off a mark as high as 134, so a recent 7lb rise for a win off 123 is very manageable. He had wind surgery at the end of last year after a disappointing run when going off a short priced favourite at Musselburgh and it came to fruition last time out at Sedgefield when beating the in-form Road Warrior, and has plenty of scope to improve on that now. He has a big race in him on a big stage and went off fancied for a Boodles at the 2018 Cheltenham Festival and a Red Rum Chase at Aintree and a win here could see him turn up at one of those venues again with a big chance. Trainer Brian Ellison makes the 330 mile round journey for just his fifth runner in the last five years here and has a 40% win rate when combining with Jonathan Burke in that time. 

15:35 Newbury - Betfair Hurdle

Glory And Fortune has a host of solid efforts this season including when winning the Welsh Champion Hurdle at Ffos Las and that form has been franked since. He went better than that again last time out at Kempton in a Grade 1 when a mistake two out cost him his chance of the win, but he still kept on to go down by two lengths to Epatante with Soaring Glory and Tritonic behind and he now gets weight off those two rivals back in a handicap here. It’s baffling how he’s at least double the price of those rivals here on that run.

Age might be against him judging on past winners as no one older than six has won it since 2004, but plenty of older horses have gone close in that time. The class always shines through in this race no matter what the weight with horses rated in the 140’s winning three of the last four and horses like Zarkandar winning off marks of 151, so a mark of 142 falls nicely in that category. JPR One would be the lowest rated winner since Wingman in 2008 if he were to win it off 130.