Find all previous Seymour Biz racing previews in his weekly column: Saturday Horse Racing Tips.
The North Of England has pride of place this Saturday on ITV with three meetings from that area being televised. The main meeting is Haydock Park from where four races are being shown. Chester will show two and Beverley three. I always fail to understand why Haydock and Chester race on the same day when the courses are only half an hour apart. It’s a bit like Ascot and Windsor or Epsom and Sandown racing on the same afternoon.
I have looked through the televised races for value and although Beverley has a fine handicap on the card, there are two 2-year-old Conditions races that represent little value.
Chester has two handicaps being shown but without the benefit of the draw or whether the cut-away will be in place, racing around the tight bends of the RooDee winners are very difficult to predict. That leaves us for the second subsequent Saturday reliant on Haydock for most of our televised racing and congratulations are in order to the Clerk of the Course and his staff for getting it ready for this week’s 3-day meeting. With all these factors in mind I have looked through the cards for value and here are my thoughts for this week’s Lucky Fifteen.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
3.45 Beverley. Give It Some Teddy
2.40 Chester. Hey Jonesy
1.45 Haydock. Cold Stare
2.20 Haydock. El Astronaute
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365
Beginning at Beverley with the 3.45, the bet365 Handicap, which is run over just under a mile. Mark Johnson has the bottom weight and favourite here with Sibaaq who has not been seen since winning here at Beverley in mid-April over this distance. That form looks sound and his only other victory also came on this course as a 2-year-old but he has had to have been pushed out to win his races and meets better horses as he steps up in class.
Richard Fahey has a couple of entries with Dusenburg and Gallipoli and the latter looks the better of the two. He won over this trip at Chester last year and has improved in his runs this season. His last run was at Ayr a fortnight ago where he led until the last half furlong, he may well be placed again.
Tony Coyle’s Broken Spear has shown some decent form this term winning at Chester earlier this month – his first victory for three years – he is another who could be fighting for a place.
Top weight is Kevin Ryan’s Queen’s Sargent who was in front of Broken Spear last week at Thirsk but he appears to have too much weight.
I like the look of one of the older horses lower in the weights, Tim Easterby’s Give It Some Teddy. I know he is a Redcar specialist but he ran well at Carlisle last time losing out in a four-way nod, he is low enough in the weights to figure here.
At Chester, the 2.40 is the tote+ Pays You More At tote.co.uk Handicap, a 7 1/2 furlong race, which is once around the turns of the RooDee course.
Tim Easterby’s Boardman looks the probable favourite as he goes for his hat-trick of victories the latest of which was at York where he won readily. However, on both occasions, he has been slow out of the blocks and he won’t get away with that behaviour around here.
Another Batt from David Barron’s stable won at Thirsk last time out but he ran no sort of race on his previous outing here at Chester at the beginning of the month and I find it hard to fancy him on his return.
Ian Williams’s Ejtilaab was in front of Barron’s horse that day but found nothing over the final furlong.
I am interested in a big outsider here, Kevin Ryan’s Hey Jonesy, who has been a class horse in his time and has run in Group races. His form this year has been abysmal and he looked reluctant at York last time. However, the same could be said last season but he popped up last June at Ascot and won at 20/1. If he gets away well and heads the field, he may take some catching.
Moving just up the M6 to Haydock, the Betway Handicap is at 1.45, a 6-furlong sprint on the straight course. The top weight here is Jedd O’Keeffe’s Air Raid who is having his first run of the season after plying his trade in Listed company at the end of last year. I fear he has too much weight.
Tom Ward’s Capote’s Dream has shown excellent form this year and after a couple of wins on the all-weather, he won on turf at Windsor at the beginning of this month but this is a step up in class.
Richard Fahey’s Brian The Snail has been running in a better class of race than this and has a couple of Class 2’s to his credit but he has struggled this season and is best watched.
Concierge won last time for David Attwater. He got home by a short head in a classy race at Newbury a fortnight ago but may have to settle for a place after rising in the weights.
Bielsa has shown some fair form for trainer Kevin Ryan this season and may take a place here but I just prefer David O’Meara’s Cold Stare who is a dual Haydock winner. He was no match for the winner at Thirsk a fortnight ago then last week was a close-up fifth in a Class2 contest. He drops back in class here and can take this.
At 2.20, we have the Betway Achilles Stakes, a Listed race over 5 furlongs. John Quinn’s El Astronaute has won fourteen races during his career, including this one last year, but the latest was at Chester earlier this month and he is expected to put up a bold performance here.
Three-quarters of a length behind him that day was King’s Lynn who is a consistent sort who can make the frame.
Moss Gill has his first run back in the UK after a trip to Dubai where he ran in a Group 1 but Edward Bethell’s charge was well beaten there.
Another moving down from Group company is Robert Cowell’s Aljady who had a fine season last year but he may find a couple too speedy for him here as may Paul Midgley’s Tarboosh who runs for the second time this season after being well beaten at Musselburgh in April.
Saturday Lucky Fifteen
3.45 Beverley. Give It Some Teddy
2.40 Chester. Hey Jonesy
1.45 Haydock. Cold Stare
2.20 Haydock. El Astronaute
Bet this lucky 15 now on Bet365