The Weekend Wager With Raceolly: Check out his best bets on Saturday

Wow! What a days racing we have ahead of us and some easy ones to kick off my time with HorseRacing.net. The Silver Trophy, the Cesarewitch, the Sprint trophy and the Dewhurst all stand out as such intriguing puzzles on an action packed day. 

15:30 Chepstow - Wasdell Group Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle

What better place to start than the excellent Chepstow card and the main event there the Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle at 15:30. Emmet Mullins travels over with Blackstair Rocco, who catches the eye as the trainer has a 38% win rate when travelling to Britain with a runner (8 wins from 21 runners over the last 5 years). Blackstair Rocco hasn’t really had much of a break over the summer and has had five runs over the last three months going off favourite four of those times and only winning once while finishing second three times. He went off 3/1 fav in a competitive handicap at Galway off a mark 4lb lower and travelled like much the best horse taking the lead three out and looking like the winner when two lengths clear over the last, but he tied up close home and got beaten a head. Easy to say after the race but he probably went too soon and the best horse got beat that day. He ran in a chase last time out and finished 18 lengths ahead of a 136 rated Antey and the return to hurdles here off a British rating of 134 makes him interesting.

The other that really caught my eye here was ROWLAND WARD and the booking of Brian Hughes for his first ride for Stuart Edmunds. His Aintree defeat of Camprond could take a huge boost Friday in the Grade 2 Persian War as he is currently priced up at 11/2. Edmunds has had a cracking start to the season with four winners and 11 places from 23 runners and Brian Hughes has only ridden at Chepstow five times over the last five years and it’s very interesting he makes the journey down with just the two rides on the day. Rowland Ward hasn’t won after a break before so the recent pipe opener at Market Rasen should have put him spot on. 

14:55 Newmarket - Darley Dewhurst Stakes

The Dewhurst Stakes (14:55 Newmarket) is always a race where the winner is worth following at three years old and going into the race it’s always worth following what Aidan O’Brien decides to do. He’s won the race five of the last eight runnings and turns up here tomorrow with just the one runner in GLOUNTHAUNE.

Only the one run to date, but he beat a good horse who had the advantage of racecourse experience. The second that day Castle Star went on to win a listed race and a Group 3 and then finished 2nd in a Group 2 and a Group 1. O’Brien had 11 entries for this race at the five-day stage, so the fact he’s relying on just the one is a big statement in a race he loves to win. The son of Kodiac should stay seven furlongs now after winning over the stiff six at the Curragh on his only start and despite contending with a long lay off the trainer has done it before most recognisably with Tenebrism who won the Group 1 Cheveley Park here after a 181 day lay off a few weeks back. 

15:15 York - Coral Sprint Trophy Handicap

The last five runnings of the Sprint Trophy Handicap at York has been won between two trainers. David O’Meara has won three and Kevin Ryan has won two. Jump a year and Michael Dods is a multi time winner and also won the race in back-to-back years in 2013 and 2014. Trainers are a creature of habit and this was likely the plan for Gulliver for some time, but the draw hasn’t been very kind with seven of the last eight winners being drawn no higher than nine. The interesting one at a probable huge price here is SNAZZY JAZZY, who runs well at York and both runs here this season has screamed out that six furlongs would be more suitable. Dropped 11lb in six runs for this yard despite running respectably in competitive races and now 5lb lower than his last run here at York when beaten only three lengths behind Copper Knight. He has a good draw and is a Group winner on soft ground there’s plenty of positives to take going in to this race.

14:25 Chepstow - Native River Handicap Chase

Where else can I round it off other than the same place I started and that’s Chepstow. The Native River Handicap Chase has attracted a very decent field and makes plenty of appeal as a 14-runner three mile chase with plenty of familiar faces turning up. THE MIGHTY DON has won 50% of his starts after a break (3 from 6) and won on seasonal debut on this card last year when beating subsequent bet365 Gold Cup first past the post Enrilo. That being his only start at the track to date and he ended up a much better jumper last season having taken a while to get used to it. Would likely have won last start last season if not for the jockey losing his irons running towards the last and was unable to ride him on the run in dropping from first to fifth when doing so. Put up 1lb for that run but with things now starting to click he can put in a big performance of that mark especially with Nick Gifford having a big start to the season (2 winners from 9 runners, 22% win rate)