Saturday’s Racing Tips – Alfa Kellenic is more than ready for the step into Class 1 company

Some horrendous runs from three of the four selections on Friday. Blake was the only horse who came out with any pride, but sadly missed the places by one. The others were really poor and I can't quite nail a reason why.

Cairnzy's Tips

Wendigo 13/8 – Hexham 2.30

Originally, I had selected Mighty Bandit as my sole pick for Saturday's racing. However, when I logged in to write things up, I found that Rizz had already beaten me to it. With that said, It was quickly back to the drawing board. Another horse caught my eye – it isn't the most exciting of prices at 13/8, but if Wendingo takes to the obstacles, the price of 13/8 could end up being decent value after all.

On initial assessment, this contest does not appear particularly competitive in my opinion. However, as previously noted, I think Wendingo only needs to jump to an average ability on his jumping debut to win this contest with no real issues.

Still lightly raced at the age of 5, Wendigo has only three real competitive racing starts, resulting in two victories and a placed effort. Two of those contests came back in 2023, with the other happening back in the start of this year. The layoff is my only slight concern as he does come up against horses who have had multiple starts over the last few months. With that said, Jamie Snowden is a good trainer and I can only assume that he'll have my selection fit and ready to go.

I'll not blabber on about the form of his last three contests but I would like to quickly mention the form of one of his recent races, and the form in question is actually Wendigo most recent outing at Catterick which saw Wendigo prevail by half a length to Jonjo Oneil's Wilful. The form of that race is red hot, with Wilful going on to win his last three races and earning himself a very respectable OR of 125. Wilful didn't just win those races, he absolutely demolished his rivals, winning by 9L, 10L, and a whopping 28L. Furthermore, the third and fourth-placed horses have also come out and won in their next outings, further boosting the form.

Rizzel's Tips

Mighty Bandit 8/1 Each Way – Chepstow 2.10 (0.75pt Each Way)

There could be some decently well-handicapped horses towards the bottom of the weights, but based on what we've seen from the horses in this field I thought that Mighty Bandit could be too good for them if he can get back to his early Irish form.

Mighty Bandit was impressive on his racecourse debut for Gordon Elliott this time last year when recording an RPR of 126 on hurdling debut when beating Lark In The Mornin who has since franked the form massively by winning the Boodles Grade 3 handicap at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this year. Harsh was back in third that day and he has since finished fourth in the Boodles Grade 3 as well as winning at the Punchestown Festival.

Since that impressive debut over hurdles he was then pitched into a Grade 2 which saw him run below what was expected but he did have nasal discharge which was probably the reason why he ran so badly. The owners then decided to sell all of their horses and Mighty Bandit was able to be kept with Gordon, which saw Warren Greatrex obtain him after the new owners paid a fortune for him. He was pitched into some tough races on his first two starts over hurdles, running poorly on both occasions, but he has enjoyed a decent campaign on the flat since and it seems Warren has got him in a very good place.

His handicap mark looks workable as we know he has the ability to batter some of these horses, and on soft enough ground with a fitness edge over many from the flat runs, I think he has a cracking chance.

The King Of Ryhope – Chepstow 4.00

There are some class acts in this race and it wouldn't be a surprise if one of them won it, but I think a lot of them are on tough handicap marks and will have bigger plans down the line and this can go to one of the horses towards the bottom of the weights, which I'm hoping is The King Of Ryhope.

When The King Of Ryhope won at Chepstow last year connections probably thought they were going to have a cracking season with their novice chaser, but it didn't quite go to plan for the Dan Skelton runner who didn't manage to win another race all year! In hindsight, they probably would've avoided a fair few of the races he lined up for as they were on heavy and soft ground, which might not be something he is entirely in love with, but now back on a sounder surface and dropped in trip to last years winning distance he can hopefully return to form.

His jumping was good on chase debut at Chepstow last year and he cruised into contention, so the likely good pace which will be set could be advantageous for my selection who has a good cruising speed and has already shown a liking to the fences at this venue. He is still on a tough mark of 136 but he did compete in some tough races last year, in a couple of Grade 2's with his 3L 4th/5 at Ascot being his best run since the win at this course. He obviously didn't manage to win a Class 1 race, but handicaps off a mark of 136 seems the right avenue to go down and I could easily see him running in the likes of the big handicaps at Cheltenham over the next few months over this trip.

Alfa Kellenic 5/4 – Newmarket 4.50 (2pt)

It pains me that I've missed the early odds on Alfa Kellenic as I've been wanting to back her all week but I've not managed to find any ante-post markets for her, and she is getting on the short side of things, but I think she is going to be very tough to beat so I'll be having a 2.5pt bet on her.

I tipped her up last time out at Ayr in their Gold Cup meeting, and Cairnzy tipped her up earlier in the season. She is a very fast filly and has been progressing all season, with her run last time out being the most impressive. After she won that race I said she is more than ready for the step up to Class 1 company and this is her time to shine as she takes on better opposition at the hq of UK racing, Newmarket.

She is very speedy, which suits this track, and she is drawn low which seems to be an advantage. Ryan Moore is a very eye catching jockey booking, which is probably one of the reasons why she has been smashed in the betting.

I don't really advise horses at these types of odds, but I think she is going to be very tough to beat, but I'm not going to go overboard with the points as the ground might get slightly softer.

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