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Saturday racing tips
- 1.55 Newbury – Highstakesplayer @ 9/2 with bet365
- 2.17 Kelso – Jango Baie @ 15/8 with BoyleSports
- 2.50 Kelso – Black Hawk Eagle @ 5/1 with BetMGM
Newbury and Kelso are the venues of Saturday's Premier Raceday meetings and boast some intriguing races, several of which have been cherry-picked for coverage by ITV.
Class 1 handicap chases are invariably highly competitive, and the BetVictor Greatwood Gold Cup at Newbury (1.55) is no exception. As a result, online betting sites have a cluster of runners in the mix to claim the £57,000 winners' cheque prominent at the top of the market.
Greatwood Gold Cup tip
As is usually the case in these types of events, a good case can be made for many of the runners, but the one that catches the eye here is Highstakesplayer. He has won three from three since switching to the bigger obstacles, and there is likely a lot more left to come.
His latest success came in a modest three-mile chase at Kempton less than a month ago. That was after 458 days on the sidelines, a feat by any measure. How he went about his business left a strong impression that this relatively unexposed chaser has a bright future.
He jumped the obstacles big and bold at Kempton and showed a good aptitude when asked a question after jumping the last. He drops back down in trip here but has plenty of speed and stamina and is expected to come on a bundle for his Kempton win.
This race is a step up in class, but he receives weight all around, and if he produces another exemplary display of jumping, he seems sure to be in the shake-up. The 9/2 available on betting apps may be underestimating him.
Dangers are plentiful, with Grandeur D’Ame, Kandoo Kid, and Sir Psycho all capable of making their presence felt and worthy of consideration.
2.17 Kelso tip
With a bumper nine races on ITV from Newbury, Kelso and Doncaster, betting opportunities for armchair punters are abundant. Finding the winners may prove more problematic, though, with few of the runners standing out from the crowd.
One that does look a cut above his rivals is the Nicky Henderson-trained Jango Baie, who goes in the two-miles, two-furlongs bet365 Premier Novices Hurdle at 2.17pm. He features a couple of times in the Cheltenham Festival odds, suggesting connections rate him highly.
His participation in either is probably unlikely, considering the proximity of this event.
Jango Baie has shown significant improvement in his three outings, winning two, including a Grade 1 race at Aintree, and finishing second to a probably very decent sort in a longer race than this at Huntingdon towards the beginning of last month.
His level of form so far looks some way above what any of his 11 rivals have shown. There should be more to come from the five-year-old, and he looks like one of the weekend’s better propositions.
2.50 Kelso tips
We stay at Kelso for our third selection, where Black Hawk Eagle can notch up a hat-trick by taking the valuable bet365 Morebattle Hurdle at 2.50.
He was a fair performer in Ireland, but since joining trainer Kerry Lee in November, he has shown considerable improvement. After a moderate debut for Lee, he has looked much better in his two races since.
His latest win, which was at Hereford at the end of January, was imposing. He was ridden with confidence by Richard Patrick and won the race with any amount in hand. Patrick takes the ride again and clearly gets on well with Black Hawk Eagle.
Kerry Lee has her small team of horses in great form at the moment, and her strike rate in hurdles races this season is an impressive 43 per cent. She is no stranger to taking on the bigger stables and has had considerable success in a relatively short training career.
Black Hawk Eagle had something about him at Hereford, and some good support for him after the runners were declared for this race would suggest that much more could be expected.
There is likely to be further support for the six-year-old on horse racing betting sites and the 5/1 offered by BetMGM may look on the generous side when the runners reach the post.
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Last Updated: 14th March 2024, 07:22 AM
