The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. If you click links to other sites on this page, we will earn commission.
Saturday racing tips: Best bets and odds for Cheltenham and Wetherby
It’s day two of the Paddy Power meeting at Cheltenham. Horse racing correspondent Jonathan Doidge brings us tips for Saturday’s action both there and at Wetherby.
Saturday’s Tips
Day one of the November meeting is in the books, and you can catch up with all the action from Friday’s meet using the latest horse racing results.
We’re now looking ahead to day two and we’ve got four horse racing tips for Cheltenham and a further pick for the action at Wetherby with prices from the best betting sites.
Paddy Power Gold Cup Handicap Chase (14.20, Cheltenham)
Let’ start with the big race of the day. Beaten just once over fences, the Cheltenham Festival Plate winner Jagwar looks a worthy ante-post favourite to provide trainers Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, and jockey Jonjo O’Neill jr. with first wins in this big early season handicap.
Jagwar won the Plate in spite of his jumping and, taking that into account, the fact that he won going away was all the more impressive. Here, he takes on seasoned handicappers, having gone up 9lb for that success.
He may still prove good enough but this race will be less forgiving of any errors and when you throw into the mix the stat that only one favourite has won it in the past decade, he looks worth taking on.
Trainer Paul Nicholls supplied that winning market leader, Stage Star, in 2023 and also last year’s winner Il Ridoto, who returns for a second crack at the prize on a mark just 1lb higher. He looks a major player again.
Panic Attack will need some improvement to secure a win in this for the first time for the Skeltons, while Coming Up Easy looks likely to spearhead the challenge for Ireland in a rare big race that they haven’t dominated in recent times.
All of that leads me to side with VINCENZO, for the in-form Sam Thomas yard. At the time of writing he’s second-favourite for this at 11/2 on horse racing betting sites and looks the proverbial each-way bet to nothing.
He’s seven years of age, so is just coming into his prime and he’s not finished out of the first two in four chases, winning at Windsor (2m, good to soft) and Sandown (1m7½f, soft) last winter.
He showed he can jump around here when second (2m½f, soft) on New Year’s Day and produced his best effort yet when stepped up to to 2m4f at Newbury (soft) for the Greatwood Gold Cup, when last seen in March.
Like many in this, he’s open to improvement and he already has the look of a well treated young chaser, so he might just look to have been thrown in as they cross the line. We’ll see.
Saturday racing tip 1 : Vincenzo (Cheltenham, 14.20) – 0.5pts each-way @ 11/2 (Bet365)
Paddy Power Arkle Challenge Trophy Trial Novices' Chase (13.45, Cheltenham)
Easy Stratford winner Be Aware and Champion Hurdle second Burdett Road can clearly both have cases made here but JULY FLOWER impressed with her jumping when scoring in a mares’ contest at Limerick (2m3f, yielding to soft) on her chase debut.
She has plenty of potential, as well as an invaluable mares’ allowance now she’s back taking on the boys and she’s already a Grade 1 bumper winner in France, so she has a touch of class about her.
I think Henry de Bromhead’s charge can justify market leadership on betting apps again.
Saturday racing tip 2: July Flower (Cheltenham, 13.45) – 1pt win @ 5/4 (Bet365)
From The Horses Mouth Podcast Handicap Hurdle (14.55, Cheltenham)
This looks an interesting stayers’ contest and Dan Skelton certainly knows the time of day when it comes to supplying big handicap winners at this track. Factor that in and the bookies always now tend to err on the side of caution, as I think they have with the favourite here, Supremely West.
He stayed on well up the hill for third in a similar race here last month, his first start for the yard. He’s on a career high mark, so he’ll need to improve to win this and if racing closer to the pace, that’s entirely possible.
However, I do think his price is a bit skinny based on his achievements and I think his stable companion PRINCE ZALTAR is interesting. He finished three places behind the favourite in that same race last month, with Long Draw (who reopposes) between them in fourth.
The selection had won eased down on his first start for Skelton at Newton Abbot in September (2m5½f, good to soft). The handicapper clobbered him with 8lb for that success and he was beaten 11l by Ma Shontou last time.
He was in the vanguard for a long way until that weight told that day and I think they might not go quite as hard on the slower ground forecast for Saturday, while a 2lb drop plus the use of 3lb claimer Tristan Durrell effectively puts him back at 3lb higher than his Newton Abbot success.
There’s an ‘under the radar’ feel about his chance and at 12-1 at the time of writing, he looks worth an each-way play, as I’m sure his trainer can probably eke a bit more out of him.
Saturday racing tip 3: Prince Zaltar (Cheltenham, 14.55) – 0.5pts each-way @ 12/1 (Betway)
Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle (15.30, Cheltenham)
Jurancon breezed through a series of novices’ hurdles last season and finished by winning on his handicap debut at Newbury (2m½f, soft) in March, for which he’s up 5lb. He’s clearly one to note here on his first start since wind surgery.
I like the look of Royal Infantry as one to keep in the notebook this season but he does have a lot of weight to carry this time, as does the in-form, French Ship and my loyalties lay with KAP BOY.
I’ve been looking forward to see Olly Murphy’s charge back out again, after he toyed with his field to win at Perth (2m4f, soft) last month, on his first start since joining this trainer from Paul Nicholls’ Ditcheat stable.
He impressed with how he travelled and then cleared away from his field, with the runner-up Tread Softly Now franking the form with an Ayr success the other day. The selection is up 9lb for that win but that’s not unexpected.
He has a handy racing weight and the presence of the ever-hungry Sean Bowen in the saddle. He fits the bill for me and is another value proposition each-way at 9-1 at the time of writing.
Saturday racing tip 4: Kap Boy (Cheltenham, 15.30) - 0.5pts each-way @ 9/1 (Bet365)
BoyleSports Home Of The Early Payout Handicap Chase (15.43, Wetherby)
Meanwhile, up at Wetherby there are a couple of good races, both on ITV, towards the end of the card and in the 2m3½f chase I like the look of ISSAM for the bang-in-form team of Tom Symonds.
He won 5-17 over hurdles before scoring on his chase debut at Exeter (2m3f, soft) in January, when he showed a very good attitude. He was then just touched off in a four-runner contest at Sandown (1m7½f, good to soft) when last seen in February, when the front pair were more than five lengths clear.
He has won when fresh and this galloping track ought to suit him, while a useful 5lb is claimed off his back. With respect to Heltenham, who is exposed and Primoz, who sports first-time headgear and also has claims, I’m with Issam.
Cheltenham free bet offer
BoyleSports are running their bet on last, get tomorrow promotion during this year’s November Meeting at Cheltenham with 2 x £5 free bets available to those punters who meet the qualifying requirements.
To be eligible for the free bets, bettors must wager £15 or more at odds of evens or greater on the final race of the day at Cheltenham. On Saturday, the final race of the day is the Cheltenham Guardians Safeguarding Team Mares' Open NH Flat Race (16:00).
Whether the selection in the last goes on to win or lose, bettors will be credited a £5 free bet to use on Cheltenham the next day.
The offer is available every day of the November Meeting, with the free bet granted from wagering on Sunday’s last race eligible for use on any sports market on BoyleSports.
Please gamble responsibly
If you plan to have a bet on Friday’s racing, make sure to gamble responsibly.
It’s vital that bettors take steps to remain in control of their time and budget when using gambling sites. The same applies whether you’re using the betting sites UK, slot sites, casino sites, casino apps, or any other gambling medium.
Even the most knowledgeable racing punter can lose a bet, so always stick to a budget and never chase your losses.
It’s particularly important not to get carried away by any free bets or casino bonuses you might receive, both of which are available in abundance on gambling sites, but must be approached with caution.
You can stay in control by making use of the responsible gambling tools offered, such as deposit limits, loss limits, self-exclusion and time-outs.
You may also want to visit the following free organisations to discuss any issues with gambling you might be having:
We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
We aim to offer every online gambler and reader of The Independent a safe and fair platform through unbiased reviews and offers from the UK’s best online gambling companies.
Gambling can be addictive, always play responsibly and only bet what you can afford to lose. Gambling sites have a number of tools to assist you to stay in control, including deposit limits and time outs. If you think you have a problem, advice and support is available for you now from BeGambleAware or Gamcare.
Any offers or odds listed in this article are correct at the time of publication but are subject to change. Terms & Conditions apply to all offers.
Bookmark popover
Removed from bookmarks