Oli Bell previews the ITV-televised action and fancies Salouen
After some time off following Royal Ascot, I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things with this great summer of racing - and what a way to do so on Saturday.
I’ll be presenting The Opening Show on ITV4 from 10am, joined by Hayley Turner and Jason Weaver in the studio.
As well as celebrating the stars on the course, we’ll be celebrating the stars behind the scenes as part of Racing Staff Week. We’d love to see your pictures from stables up and down the country, with the best being played out on air. To send us yours, tweet @itvracing along with #theopeningshow.
Our live coverage gets underway at 1.30pm on ITV's main channel, with Frankie Dettori and Johnny Murtagh joining the crew - both always guaranteed to bring entertainment.
The Group One Coral-Eclipse at Sandown is the stand-out race on the afternoon card, with a number of this season’s big guns going head-to-head once more.
With a bumper afternoon of racing ahead, take a look at who I will be backing…
1.50pm - Sandown, Coral Charge, 5f 10y
I think Mirza from stall one will run a big race. This is a horse that, through the years, has shown he's a talented sprinter.
It is a division where lots of these horses will win and lose over time, but we have got other good sprinters at the top of the market with patchy profiles.
His comeback last month in the William Hill Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap at Musselburgh was promising, defying long odds to show his class to finish fifth, barely two lengths behind winner Line Of Reason.
From his plum draw, I can see 10-year-old Mirza rolling back the years and running well at big odds.
2.05pm - Haydock, Bet365 Handicap Stakes, 1m 6f
I was at Sandown for Racing UK in June when Jukebox Jive won over the same distance. He was given a good ride by David Egan, who is in the saddle again on Saturday, and I believe the horse has more to give over the same trip.
A 3lb rise in his rating for that victory is very fair as he could have more to show. There are a lot of unexposed horses that could do similar, but I’m confident Jukebox Jive will leave trainer Anthony Honeyball dancing all the way back to his Somerset yard and hit all the right notes with punters.
2.25pm - Sandown, Coral Challenge Handicap, 1m
I thought George William didn’t have any luck in the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot and you can put a line through that run.
If you judge him on his form in Newbury’s Be Wiser Insurance Spring Cup Handicap in April and May’s totescoop6 Victoria Cup at Ascot, he’s a big, big player in this race.
Ignore the result from the Royal meeting and I believe he will go close at Sandown on Saturday.
As an alternative, Naval Warfare is a very capable horse, but his draw in stall 17 - the widest of them all - might be his undoing this weekend.
I really liked the way he strode out for victory last time out to win convincingly at Leicester in May, but unfortunately his draw could be against him.
2.40pm - Haydock, Bet365 Lancashire Oaks, 1m 3f 175y
Abingdon was very impressive at Pontefract at the end of last month when winning by 10 lengths and the form has taken a boost.
This is a Sir Michael Stoute-trained filly that has the profile of the type of horse he does so well with. She’s four years old now, but not had too much racing.
On the evidence of her win just a few weeks ago, she will take an awful lot of beating and it’s hard to look far beyond her.
3.00pm - Sandown, Coral Distaff, 1m
Pavillon is my bet of the day and a horse I absolutely love. I think she did really well to win on debut last November at Kempton, making up such eye-catching ground late on to be first past the post.
In my opinion she did equally as well to win on her seasonal reappearance at Chelmsford in May when things in the race didn't necessarily go her way.
She was third last time out at Wolverhampton and I thought that as well was a decent run. Clive Cox’s three-year-old is a very talented filly and I don’t believe her odds reflect that. She will go close at a big price.
3.15pm - Haydock, Bet365 Old Newton Cup Handicap, 1m 3f 175y
I would have fancied Big Country a lot in this race had the draw gods been a bit kinder to him, but starting from stall 18 makes things tough for the four-year-old and jockey Josephine Gordon.
A horse I have always liked and been a big supporter of is Carntop, owned by the Prince Of Wales and Duchess Of Cornwall.
This is a horse that after winning his maiden at Newmarket in October 2015 I thought the world of. In truth, he hasn't quite built on it and has been disappointing since.
But, he came back to form at Epsom last time out at the beginning of June, staying on to finish third of 10 behind winner Soldier In Action. I’m going to give him one last chance as I do think he has plenty of talent.
3.35pm - Sandown, Coral-Eclipse Stakes, 1m 1f 209y
I’m going to stand by two of my favourites that I have regularly championed this year, to varying levels of success!
Firstly, Salouen should not be the price he is. Sylvester Kirk’s three-year-old was very unlucky in the Investec Derby when he was basically all but brought down while he got in an unfavourable position in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and perhaps might not have stayed. Prices of 50/1 and even higher are a joke - and, yes, I may be going completely mad!
Secondly, I think the value of Barney Roy’s form and all that he has achieved this year is better than that of his rivals in the race. I think he’s fundamentally the best horse in the race.