ITV Racing Tips: Selections For Saturday 23rd May

This Saturday on ITV Racing brings a feast for flat fans, with York, Goodwood and Haydock set to be broadcast as well as the feature race, the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh. Billy Grimshaw is back from a week in the sunshine for Britain's heatwave and has a couple of best bets he hopes will leave punters smiling in the sunshine at Haydock...

14:58 Haydock - Sandy Lane Stakes

I live less than ten miles from Haydock and it is currently cracking the flags here in the North West, so I am expecting all traces of soft in the going description to be a distant memory come Saturday afternoon. This race is often a good pointer for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot but is a big prize worth landing in its own right in a Group 2 and as we often see, the speed horses dropping back to this trip after a crack at the Guineas are the ones to side with.

It is often assumed at Haydock that a high draw is advantageous in these sprint contests, but with only eight runners taking their chance I am not about to discount those drawn low if I can find a pace setter amongst them who will drag the rest along. Brussels in stall one has made it before and Five Ways in two is another who doesn't like to wait around, so I am going to wager that pace is more important than draw in this contest and back VENETIAN SUN coming out of stall three.

Karl Burke is a master with this profile of horse and the yard have won two of the last ten renewals of this race. His Starman filly ran well enough for a long way in the 1000 Guineas before the petrol tank, predictably on breeding and run style, emptied. Six lengths was the distance she was beaten, which was no disgrace, but she travelled sweetly into the race and now back over her optimal trip I am expecting this Group 1 winner as a two-year-old to bounce back in style. Her main market rival Division is drawn next door in stall four, but I would have him much closer in price to Coppull, who beat him at Ascot last time, with both sitting nearer the 4/1 mark.

Division may have shaped like the best horse at Ascot, but I still struggle to see why he should be 5/2 here. He should be closer in the betting to Coppull, and his short price only makes Venetian Sun look more attractive at a similar price.

15:30 Haydock - Temple Stakes

Last year's winner MGHEERA has not quite hit the heights since that day, but with the ground set to be good once again and with the same favourable draw in 11 I think she is overpriced each-way to repeat the feat at around 9/1. Her win actually deserves marking up as she had an awkward start that day, which can prove fatal to a horse's chances over five furlongs at any track, and of the first five home she was the only horse who came from off the pace.

I mean no disrespect in claiming her jockey switch from 2025's William Buick to in 2026 Kieran Shoemark is a downgrade, but Shoemark is hardly an untried amateur and providing he can get the mare to break alertly she must have an outstanding chance of at the very least getting us some place returns with our friends at BOYLE Sports offering an extra place. Haydock is not a track with a notable need to be on the speed, but I do fear the favourite Night Raider the most to our chances given his gate speed. If he breaks as quickly as he has in the past and gets into an outright lead, he could be hard to peg back.

Asfoora often takes a run to come to herself and so off the back of her poor showing in the Palace House at Newmarket last time out I'd expect her to be markedly better, but her penalty won't help and the same goes for ten year old Khaadem who has 9st10 to lug around. The old boy runs well whenever he wants these days and is not without a chance if there is a real pace burn up and the race sets up for stalkers, but Mgheera is a standout bet to my eye and probably is my strongest fancy of the day.