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Weekend horse racing tips:
- Saturday 1.20 Leopardstown - Jetara @ 10/3 with Unibet
- Saturday 1.50 Leopardstown – Storm Heart @ 6/4 with BetVictor
- Sunday 1.10 Leopardstown – Gaelic Warrior @ 10/11 with BetVictor
- Sunday 1.40 Leopardstown – Ballyburn @ 10/11 with BetGoodwin
It is the last big weekend of racing before next month’s Cheltenham Festival and the stars of Irish horse racing will be fine-tuning their preparations in the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on Saturday and Sunday.
With four Grade 1 races each day, there will be a flurry of betting action with online bookmakers.
Depending on how things work out this weekend, there will surely be price changes in the latest Cheltenham odds.
Saturday’s showpiece event is the €140,000 Paddy Power Irish Gold Cup. Somewhat disappointingly, the race has only attracted four runners. The awesome Galopin Des Champs won this race last year before winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Although beaten by Fastorslow at Punchestown in November, he was imposing when winning the Savills Chase at Leopardstown over Christmas. On that form, he cannot be sensibly opposed.
UK betting sites are taking no chances with the Willie Mullins-trained star a best price of 4/9 with William Hill. Fastorslow has a 2-1 lead over Galopin Des Champs in the three races they have met and is a top-priced 3/1 with BetGoodwin.
They are tempting odds, but Fastorslow has yet to convince that he is in love with this track, and the race is probably best watched without money riding on it.
Saturday 1.20 Leopardstown
A more exciting betting proposition is the still-improving Jetara in the Novice Hurdle at 1.20pm on Saturday. The six-year-old mare receives 7lb from the geldings in the race, making her a serious contender.
She was thought good enough to be entered at Cheltenham last season and although well beaten in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, she was far from disgraced.
She was ring rusty in her comeback race early in November but has improved out of all recognition since with three classy-looking wins on the spin. Her latest success came at this track in a Grade 3 Mares Hurdle at the end of December.
Jetara won that with ease, giving the impression that there is still better to come, and this slightly longer trip will likely suit her even more. The booking of Rachael Blackmore also looks significant.
Juvenile Hurdle tip
The Irish Arkle Novice Chase at 2.25pm on Saturday will see Marine Nationale go off an odds-on favourite. He is yet to be beaten in six races and looked the real deal on his chase debut over course and distance just before the new year.
The 2/5 on offer with horse racing betting sites does not appeal to me.
The Juvenile Hurdle at 1.50pm sees Storm Heart on offer at a more interesting price of 6/4 with BetVictor.
The French import made an instant impression in his first race in Ireland, winning with any amount in hand in a maiden hurdle at Punchestown on New Year’s Eve.
There are plenty of exciting prospects in the race. Storm Heart has the makings of an exceptional juvenile, though, and with Paul Townend on board, he is the one they all have to beat.
Tip: Saturday 1.50 Leopardstown – Storm Heart @ 6/4 with BetVictor
Ladbrokes Novice Chase tip
Sunday promises to bring more big race success for Mullins, who saddles State Man in the Irish Champion Hurdle at 2.45pm and El Fabiolo in the Dublin Chase at 2.10pm.
Both are certain to go off at prohibitive odds, and better value opportunities can be found elsewhere.
The Ladbrokes Novice Chase at 1.10pm is another Mullins-dominated Grade 1, and it is difficult to split market leaders Gaelic Warrior and Fact To File. The former has looked impeccable in both his novice chase appearances this season.
His first was by 15 lengths at Punchestown, and it could have been double that or more such was his dominance. His second success came in a valuable event at Limerick, where he again won as easily as he liked.
He already looks like champion material. While Fact To File has improvement to come, Gaelic Warrior will be extremely tough to beat on what has been seen of the pair so far.
Tip: Sunday 1.10 Leopardstown – Gaelic Warrior @ 10/11 with BetVictor
Grade 1 Novice Hurdle pick
Ballyburn is another Mullins runner in the Grade 1 Novice Hurdle at 1.40pm.
He impressed when winning over two-and-a-half miles here on his second start of this season’s campaign.
The drop back to two miles is unlikely to prove a negative.
He is short enough in the betting but gives the impression that he is another exceptional performer we will hear much more about in the coming weeks.
Tip: Sunday 1.40 Leopardstown – Ballyburn @ 10/11 with BetGoodwin
How to claim free horse racing bets
Should you choose to follow any of our horse racing tips on the Dublin Racing Festival, you may wish to sign up to a new betting site in order to claim a welcome offer.
Cheltenham offers are beginning to pop up on gambling sites but with over a month to go until the big one there’s still plenty of races to be run in the meantime.
Fitzdares is well known for horse racing betting and their current welcome offer allows new customers to claim back 50 per cent of their first day losses as a free bet up to £50.
The have also recently launched a new online casino and will reward new sportsbook users with 10 free spins – valued at 10p per spin – which can be used on the Reel King slot.
Elsewhere, BoyleSports are offering new mobile customers money back as a free if bet if their first selection finishes second to the SP favourite at the Dublin Racing Festival.
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
