Alan Thomson, the former Racing Editor at the Daily Record, puts up five tips at Ripon, Sandown, Haydock, Leicester and Doncaster on Saturday. View selections below.
KNIGHTSWOOD (5.35) looks the best bet of the day in the 1m 4f handicap at Ripon.
Charlie Johnston’s gelding boasts a 1-1-2 record from three visits to the Yorkshire track and will strip cherry-ripe on the back of a seasonal pipe-opener at Thirsk two weeks when finishing runner-up.
Sam Hawkens scored for Richard Hannon at Salisbury (heavy) around this time last year and has his third outing for new trainer William Haggas.
Cabrera has acquitted herself well in decent company for Ed Bethell and it will be interesting to see how the filly goes in the betting market now returning to action from a 203-day absence.
The Dan Skelton-Willie Mullins trainers’ championship dogfight goes down to the wire and the Irish handler saddles no less than half the 20 runners declared for the feature 3m 5f bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.
Mullins’ stable jockey Paul Townend has opted to ride relatively unexposed High Class Hero, with Skelton fielding sole candidate Hoe Joly Smoke.
I’m content to sit back and watch the end-of-season spectacle without a financial interest but will be dabbling earlier on the card courtesy of the Skelton-trained RISKINTHEGROUND (1.50) in the 2m 4f novices’ handicap chase.
The eight-year-old is chasing a quick April hat-trick on the back of victories at Ayr and Cheltenham, and may hold too many guns for market rivals Eyed, a beaten favourite at Ayr, and last month’s course and distance scorer Classic Anthem.
Back on the Flat, there is some tasty fare on the menu at Haydock where Roger Varian’s RAHIEBB (1.30) is taken to concede weight to his six rivals in the opening 1m 3f novice stakes.
Running in the royal colours, Rahiebb made a winning debut at Newcastle before running into a potentially smart Gosden-trained recruit, Warrant Holder, on a return trip to Tyneside last month. The front pair drew 16 lengths clear of the third and Rahiebb shapes as if this extra yardage will suit him perfectly.
Oisin Murphy heads to Leicester and is a notable booking by Harry Eustace to partner his filly GUENDOLEN (3.10) in a modest 1m 2f handicap.
The filly makes her seasonal debut on the back of a couple of placed efforts last term and may be open to some improvement this campaign.
Jim Goldie boasts a fine record with his cross-border raiders at Doncaster and Paul Mulrennan teams up with BRAES OF DOUNE (4.40) in the opening one-mile handicap.
The gelding, a winner at Ayr and Musselburgh last season, has gone well fresh in the past.
Tally Ho
Alan
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NB. All odds shown are correct at time of publishing and are subject to change.
