ITV Racing Tips; Expert Selections For Saturday's Slate
There is something for everyone on Saturday's ITV Racing card, with a good flat meeting at Doncaster along with racing at Aintree including the Grand Sefton as well as Badger Beer Day at Wincanton. Billy Grimshaw has picked out a few to back...
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13:20 Doncaster - Wentworth Stakes
This listed contest is the first broadcast from Doncaster on the final flat turf card of the season, and I'm going to be siding with a horse trained by arguably the trainer of the season thanks to Bluestocking, Ralph Beckett. ZOUM ZOUM was an unbeaten juvenile and it is interesting to see that all three of those wins came when he started the year late, clearly with a penchant for soft ground and cooler conditions.
As such, I am fine to discard his somewhat disappointing mid season form when the ground will have been too quick for him and focus instead on what he did as a juvenile and, more importantly, his latest run out when a C&D winner a fortnight ago. Beckett is still flying along and the way the horse battled to beat The XO up the Doncaster run in last time showed him to be in rude health, as well as having the heart for a scrap. The draw in one could be seen as a negative, however there is plenty of pace low in here with Eminy and Vicario, plus Zoum Zoum has made all in the past before.
His main danger is favourite Room Service on the back of his brilliant second in a much stronger race than this last time out at York, but at the prices I'm happy to side with the proven Autumnal horse in Zoum Zoum.
14:05 Aintree - BoyleSports Choose Wisely Handicap Chase
I thought finding the winner of this race was fairly straightforward, which is welcomed on a day jam packed with so many competitive races. IMPERIAL SAINT won what was in my view a better race than this just a fortnight go over this course and distance and coming back here presumably in the same form, he should take all the stopping. He won that race despite having to make his own running, which is not a strategy the horse has implemented regularly in his career, and in this contest I'd be amazed if he is forced to take them along.
Calgary Tiger, Jack Holiday and El Borracho are all confirmed front runners but the former in particular is always sent off like a scalded cat, so with Imperial Saint having form over further back in his hurdling days I'd imagine he will be prominent and stalk those involved in the pace battle before looming up and kicking on past them. Despite his assured stamina, this is not a slow horse and despite the burden of top weight here I think Philip Hobbs and Johnson White will be celebrating another Aintree success with their likeable young chaser.
14:23 Wincanton - Boodles Rising Stars Novices’ Chase
Just five are in here for this Grade 2, but the market is still competitive with four of the quintet priced at 5/1 or lower. Handstands is the favourite at present despite being the only horse as yet to be tried over fences, which made my eyebrows raise a touch even though he is clearly bred for fences and was a successful P2P recruit. Soul Icon ran very well last time out in the Summer Plate at Market Rasen, with this race always the target after that in the hope of more good ground, which he gets. For all this is a likeable animal, however, I'm not sure he has the class of the favourite or INSURRECTION, who will be my final ITV tip of the day.
It's no secret to regular readers that I love backing Harry Cobden ridden horses, but even taking the jockey angle out of this I was very impressed by his sharp accurate jumping on chase debut last time out and with Paul Nicholls not starting the season as hot as he often does, I'm willing to bet the horse still has bundles of improvement left in him. If this is the case and that first win can be marked up, I think he could well get the rest of the field in trouble with his jumping and think Handstands is going to have to be destined for Grade Ones over fences if he is going to turn him over. The prices are contracting as I type this so take any of the remaining 11/4 and 5/2 as soon as possible.