The ITV Racing cameras share out the airtime between Haydock’s Betfair Chase day card and a competitive Ascot meeting headlined by the Grade 2 Ascot Hurdle, in which Jeremy Scott’s Cheltenham heroine Golden Ace takes on the boys for the first time in open company.
Scott’s mare looks to have found a great opportunity to extend her winning streak and a prolific Venetia Williams chaser is expected to do likewise. At Haydock Dan Skelton is three-handed in the Betfair Handicap Hurdle and it looks like brother Dan may be on the wrong one.
ITV Racing Tips
2.30 – Gwenny May Boy @ 12/1
2.45 – Golden Ace to win @ 9/4
3.20 – Martator to win @ 5/2
Bet on the latest horse racing odds at Betzone
Versatile, improving Gwennie the pick of Skelton triple-team
Dan Skelton and Emmet Mullins are two of the best handicap target trainers in operation right now and both yards are represented in Haydock’s Betfair Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle (2.30).
Mullins’ Slate Lane carried off this prize a year ago, but anyone betting Backmeorsackme will be doing so purely on his handlers’ reputation. There’s precious little in the form book to suggest he’s capable of winning this, aside from a seemingly-misguided Grade 1 outing last term in which he was beaten 25 lengths.
Skelton, on the other hand, is three deep for this valuable prize and all have strong claims. Doyen Quest is likely to go off favourite under a 5lb penalty for a cozy success last weekend at Cheltenham, while lightly-raced last time out winner Catch Him Derry has a feather weight.
Preference though is for the yard’s GWENNIE MAY BOY. The six-year-old has won all three of his starts since joining team Skelton from Jonjo O’Neill, culminating in a seven-and-a-half length victory in a £42k handicap at Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
Unlike Doyen Quest, all of whose best form has come on good ground, or Catch Him Derry who has been largely campaigned on soft and heavy, the selection has scored on goings at both ends of the spectrum and should have more to come on the evidence of his Aintree heroics.
Stable number one Harry Skelton may seemingly have nailed his colours to the Doyen Quest mast, but this shouldn’t necessarily be taken as an illustration of the stable pecking order.
Skelton has yet to ride Gwennie May Boy in three runs for the family firm and could only manage third on West Balboa behind Charlie Todd on our pick at Aintree back in April.
Tip: 2.30 – Gwenny May Boy @ 12/1
Back exciting Ace to bank weight concession and beat the boys
There’s so much to like about Jeremy Scott’s GOLDEN ACE in the Howden Ascot Hurdle (2.45) that it seems perverse to take her on at a very reasonable price of 9/4. Unbeaten in four starts over hurdles last term, her victory in the Dawn Run Mares Novices’ Hurdle is already working out well.
Better Days Ahead, the lauded Gordon Elliott representative she saw off in that Festival assignment, went on to land the Grade Turners Mersey Novices’ Hurdle in mixed company at Aintree and was on the scoresheet again when landing the open Grade 3 Bottlegreen Hurdle At Down Royal last month.
Last year’s winner Blueking D’Oroux and Triumph Hurdle third Salver have to be respected but they must give our choice 10 lbs and 4 lbs respectively. At the weights she’s the best horse in the field, suggesting she can extend her winning sequence regardless of whether the ground turns soft.
Tip: 2.45 – Golden Ace to win @ 9/4
Fox’s 5lb claim removes any doubts over Martator promise
Ascot, Saturday, a handicap, likely soft ground. The Lay & Wheeler Hurst Park Handicap Chase (3.20) is the type of contest Venetia Williams has become synonymous with over the years and her MARTATOR has just about everything going for him here.
Winless in his first eight starts for Williams following his switch from French trainer Joel Boisnard, things appeared to click at the back end of last season when he ran up a hat-trick.
The winning streak continued over course and distance on his first run of the new campaign and he seems certain to be effective regardless how much rain ends up lashing Ascot in the build-up, having scored on heavy ground and good ground previously.
Up 6lbs in the weights for his latest victory, any concerns that the handicapper may be catching up with him are allayed thanks to the deployment of the yard’s reliable 5lb claimer Ned Fox, who takes over from Charlie Deutsch for this assignment.
