Alan Thomson, the former Racing Editor at the Daily Record, puts up five tips at Ascot, Newbury and Lingfield on Saturday. View selections below.
Dan Skelton unleashes a bevy of fancied runners this afternoon and LISTENTOYOURHEART (2.25) is a mare worth following in the 2m 3f Betfair Exchange Handicap Hurdle at Ascot.
She rallied gamely to score at Windsor on New Year’s Day and is taken to confirm form with fourth home Act Of Authority, despite a 5lb turnround in the weights.
Fergal O’Brien’s John Barbour has won two his last three outings and rates a threat.
Skelton is also on the march at Haydock where DALSTON LAD (2.40) goes in the three-mile Albert Bartlett Prestige Novices’ Hurdle.
The six-year-old battled on tenaciously to repel the Paul Nicholls-trained Stay Away Fay over course and distance last month.
Ubatuba has won both his starts for Olly Murphy and holds Skuna Bay on their Leicester form.
Nicky Henderson’s 25 lengths Kempton winner Reckless Spending is more of a threat, while Ascot victor Whiskey Yankee cannot be safely ignored.
NURSE SUSAN (3.50) takes on the boys in the three-mile Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle and should be up to the task.
She has mopped up her last two starts, at Cheltenham and Sandown, in the manner of an improving mare and can handle this step up in trip.
Little separates Go To War and Doughmore Bay on the evidence of their thrilling battle at Windsor almost four weeks ago, while Irish raider Minella Emperor is given his first start in a handicap by his shrewd connections.
RICHMOND HALL (3.15) runs the Haydock track particularly well and is trading at attractive each-way odds against ten rivals in the 3m 4f William Hill Grand National Trial.
The ten-year-old chased home Mr Vango and Iwilldoit in the 3m 1f Peter Marsh Chase here last January and made Imperial Saint pull out the stops when denied in the same contest four weeks ago.
Myretown was impressive when making all to land the Ultima Chase at Cheltenham last March but clouted the second last fence when only fourth behind Imperial Saint last month. He’ll put the pace to the race.
The Skelton-trained Deafening Silence was a 28-1 outsider when posting an excellent third behind Haiti Couleurs in the Welsh Grand National and will go off at much shorter odds on the strength of that effort.
On the Polytrack at Lingfield, COMBUSTION (4.20) is preferred to Mart in the concluding six-furlong handicap.
Combustion justified odds-on favouritism when mastering Twirler over course and distance in early January and the runner-up franked the form when scoring at Kempton in midweek.
Mart, a course and distance winner off a slightly higher rating last summer, was denied narrowly here last time out.
Tally Ho
Alan
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NB. All odds shown are correct at time of publishing and are subject to change.
