ITV Racing Tips: Lingfield And Navan To The Rescue

Kudos to the head honchos at ITV Racing who have been as agile on their feet as a smart two mile chaser in switching their broadcast for Saturday afternoon numerous times to sidestep the many abandonments. We will certainly see Lingfield all-weather action, and hopefully will enjoy some jumping from Navan on the terrestrial channel. Billy Grimshaw has scoured both fixtures and has four tips, with a couple at each track...

13:55 Navan - Navan Handicap Hurdle

The feature race of the card at Navan will kick off the ITV action (weather permitting) and this looks a decent race over 2m4f to begin. Harvard Guy is favourite after winning over this course and distance on heavy a month ago, but that day he was running off level weights with LORD ERSKINE, whereas today he is tasked with giving that veteran rival a whopping ten pounds. Undoubtedly the JP owned favourite had more in hand that day, however coming to the last hurdle the horses were neck and neck and if anything Lord Erskine was travelling more sweetly.

It would be an exaggeration to say he made a race altering mistake at the last, but he did clatter the hurdle down and this must've took a micro-adjustment at the very least from the horse. Both jockeys kept their mounts honest up the run-in, so with a ten pound swing now in Lord Erskine's favour and the potential for just soft ground rather than the bog they raced on, I think he is a knocking each-way play at 8/1 with an outside chance of reversing the form. I do think whatever beats the favourite will win the race, and Fortunedefortunata looks a potential lurker now up in trip for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy. Nevertheless, our pick looks the value at the moment as the veteran is being underestimated.

14:00 Lingfield - Bet £10 Get £40 At BetMGM Handicap

Picking a horse to win a race and noticing their last win came four years ago is never the best start to proceedings, however I do think PLANTADREAM is worth a punt each-way in this opening Lingfield race on ITV. Talis Evolvere heads the market at the time of writing for Ryan Moore and Richard Hannon, and while Moore taking over form anyone in the plate means a horse is liable to shorten a couple of points I would be in the camp of those who believe the handicapper has this horse firmly in his grips now. 

Last time out Talis Evolvere beat Plantadream, over this trip at Kempton, but watching the race back Plantadream never got into a position his rider will have been happy with. Nevertheless he was a fast finishing fourth, only a length and a bit behind the eventual winner and favourite here. That day he received three pounds from Talis Evolvere, but here he will receive six and this combined with the potential for a more advantageous position in the race could make all the difference. Plenty of firms are paying extra places in here and I will be disappointed if Rab Havlin cannot at least get Plantadream into the top four, while I am hopeful he can end his long winning drought.

15:05 Navan - Jack Kiernans Celebrating 55 Years In Business Beginners Chase

He was this week entered for the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham, and if he is to have any hope of being competitive in that race you'd think MINELLA COCOONER really should be winning this. He is a 14/1 chance for the marathon test on Day One of the Festival in a couple of months prior to this race, and the fact he is 50/1 for the Turners and Brown Advisory indicates that he only has a chance in the amateur's race. 

The horse always looked a real stayer in the making over hurdles, finishing a very respectable second to The Nice Guy in both the Albert Bartlett and at Punchestown a month or so afterwards. That was back in 2022, and he missed all of last season due to injury but returned from a near 400 day absence at Leopardstown over Christmas. The horse was never destined to enjoy two and a half miles, but being asked to go that quick on his first run after so long off was always a recipe for disaster and the 45 length third smacked of a pipe opener. Now with the cobwebs blown away, this looks an eminently winnable race for a horse of his class over hurdles. 

His jumping was poor at Leopardstown but I'm willing to put that down to fitness and the fact he was taken off his feet attempting to lead a speedier field, so despite the claims of favourite Sandor Clergane -who ran well to be second to a horse I really like in Favori De Champdou - I will side with the master Willie Mullins to have worked his magic on Minella Cocooner and for he horse to stamp himself as a bona fide National Hunt Chase contender. If any bookmakers offer a tasty price on the double (tomorrow and the NH Chase) I couldn't put you off throwing some loose change on.

15:10 Lingfield - BetMGM Winter Oaks Fillies' Handicap

I am taking a fair bit on breeding with this pick, and the booking of Ryan Moore for the Crisford team certainly doesn't hurt her chances, siding with TWIRLING at around the 9/2 mark. This looks a competitive race packed with slow to come to hand four-year-olds who have decent pedigrees to stay this trip, however being by Churchill out of a Pivotal mare surely this filly will improve stacks for the step up in distance.

She has clearly not been the easiest to train, seen just once in her three year old campaign before two thirds and a win at Kempton so far this campaign. The team clearly think she wants more of a test than a mile offers, and that was the way I looked at her last performance too. She broke well and led under Harry Burns at Kempton, but when challenged by pacier types simply did not have the speed to go with them. Hopefully Ryan Moore adopts similar tactics to Burns but the filly can make more use of her clear stamina and take the sting out of this field. The case for the favourite Oh So Grand is clear after her facile win last time out, and a four pound rise looks more than ever, but at half the price of Twirling there is no value there.