Saturday’s Racing Tips – A third course win at Beverley is on the Horizon for Walter Hartright

This tip has expired. Please check our free horse racing tips section of the website to find the most up to date.

Windcrack managed to get us a win at Sandown back over a mile for the first time in a little while. She appreciated a strong gallop to aim at from the front runner who went many lengths clear and when Oisin got serious on her she showed good attributes to go forward and get the win.

Moonjid looked awkward, but I don't think Jim Crowley covered himself in glory, looking very weak in the process and something which I wouldn't have associated him with a few years ago when he won the Jockey's Championship, but that's by the by.

Connie's Rose blew out very quickly under Kieran O'Neil, which was surprising given she has form over 6f. She went from the front as I expected but she started to go backwards around the two pole, and her chances of winning were gone in the blink of an eye.

To maintain the standard four-selection format, I've decided to drop to only one selection for tomorrow, as Rizz has his eye on three horses that he hopes to run well. Ultimately, this works out fine, as I had only fancied a single horse for tomorrow's races anyway.

Cairnzy's Tips

Balmacara 5/2 – Sandown 3.00

For my sole selection on Saturday, I've gone hunting at the meeting at Sandown. The race that caught my eye was the 3.00, and although only seven go to post for this contest, it looks like a proper competitive handicap over 1m2f.

The horse I like is Balmacara for trainer Eve Johnson, who recently did me a favour on the thread when Geo won for us a couple of days ago under jockey William Buick. I've mentioned before that I'm a massive fan of her youngsters, and her runner in this contest Balmacara falls bang into that category. My selection has enjoyed a successful campaign this term with recent form figures of 1132. My selection was only raced the once as a two-year-old but showed clear signs of ability on debut when finishing two and a half lengths back in third behind Ralph Beckett's Zoum Zoum. Zoum Zoum failed to reach the sort of heights I expected as he's been a losing selection for me on the thread in the past, however, he still has run with credit at Group level so there were plenty of positives to take from my selections debut effort.

Balmacara was then put away for around four months but and returned to the track with back-to-back wins at Doncaster. He had a slight blip at Epsom in May time when he was beaten by 9L into third by Archie Watson's Evade. Balmacara wasted no time in bouncing back to form with a cracking effort at this track last time out. Although not winning on the day he only finished 2L behind the very impressive Persica for trainer Richard Hannon and that one has since boosted the form by hitting the frame in a Group 3. My selection has been hit with a 6lb rise in the weights for that recent performance but I think he's more than capable of defying that given he's only been raced six times in his career.

Rizzel's Tips

Walter Hartright 9/4 – Beverley 1.30

There is some decent racing at Beverley today with the Bullet being the main event of the day, but I thought the opening race offered a bit of a value with Walter Hartright.

Ed Dunlop has always done well when sending his runners to Beverley, and this horse is no different. The 3-year-old gelding of Saxon Warrior is a dual winner at this track this year from three attempts and is a horse who has continued to improve throughout the season after having a fairly slow start. He managed to land a four-timer between June and July and was narrowly defeated last time out in the Racing League at Chepstow, when in hindsight he was beaten by a good horse who has since gone close in another Racing League meeting off a higher mark where he finished second, as well as finishing second in a York Class 2 Heritage handicap, producing an RPR of 98, so the form looks solid.

Walter Hartright is currently the second favourite at the time of writing, and at that kind of odds, I think he is seriously good value against the rest in this field. I'm not denying that this field is a strong field, as it is, but when you look at the weights and how much improvement the horses have got off their current handicap ratings, I came to the conclusion that Walter Hartright was on the most lenient mark and had more to come, given he is still a 3-year-old and has a very progressive profile. The favourite at the time of writing is the Marcus Tregoning horse who has been improving nicely this year, but he has to give away 13lbs to my selection, and I think that could be a tough ask.

The other three horses in this race have to be respected, but they don't jump off the page as the most well-handicapped horses, so Walter Hartright looks a solid bet for me on Saturday and can hopefully kick us off to a good start.

Monte Linas 12/1 Each Way – Beverley 4.55

For my second selection from Beverley I am giving a chance to Monte Limas who is the only runner of the card for jockey Ross Coakley and trainer combination, Simon & Ed Crisford.

I am a big fan of when a used jockey of a stable makes the trip out of their usual area on a Saturday for the one ride at a track which is a rarity for them, and that's what Ross Coakley is doing on Monte Linas. I am writing this up before the odds have been compiled, so I can't comment on the value of the odds, but I think this one will go under the radar on a busy day of racing on Saturday.

Monte Lima made a lowkey return last time out 17 days ago after having a 296-day absence from the track. He would've needed the run, but he ran with plenty of credit, running to a +2 RPR to his official rating, so he left with plenty of optimism for connections for the rest of the season as he is still a lightly raced horse, but it was a pleasing return to action and something to build on especially considering he didn't get the clearest of runs. He is below his last winning mark, not by much, but it's still a fact and shows that he is dangerous off his current rating today, especially with a recent run under his belt. I'd say that he has been running in tougher races than today's assignment over the last year or so, so he will appreciate the drop in the quality of horses he is up against.

Good Earth 5/1 – Sandown 5.20

Michael Herrington has a rare runner at Sandown in the form of Good Earth who is just the fourth runner at the track for Michael, with Good Earth occupying two of those! including a win.

Michael has a good record from the three runners he has sent to the track, with 2/3 winners and as I just mentioned, Good Earth counts for two of those runs and one of the wins. With those stats, it's of notice that they are sending Good Earth back to Sandown given the record at the track and with him being in good form, he has to have a huge chance in this. He beat Lil Guff at this track last year. The pair are racing against each other again, but not for the first time since the Kubler horse was behind Good Earth over C&D. Lil Guff was behind Good Earth in a Racing League race at Windsor a couple of weeks ago, the weights are more in the favour of Lil Guff this time around. Still, Good Earth's better recent form is more important to me.

The mark of 81 for Good Earth will make life more difficult than the recent win off 76 at Newmarket, but he was winning off 86 (89 with a 3lb claimer) and 84 last year so he is still on a dangerous mark, and given he won last time out in good style in a decent enough race at HQ, he can definitely win again.

The wide stall is a slight concern as Sandown is a track where it's difficult to come from off the pace and if you're drawn wide, if breaking slow you've got to settle for a rear position. However, he won this race last year from Stall 15, as he managed to anticipate the start and get to the front, so it can be done from where he is drawn.

Michael Herrington actually won this race last year with Rathbone, who was a 14/1 shot, so it's interesting that they've come back to plunder the same pot with another C&D Winner.

Horse Racing Tips

🔗 Share Your Horse Racing Tips on Social Media