Free betting tips: Oli Bell previews Saturday's live TV action including Sandown and Beverley
Oli Bell looks ahead to Saturday's ITV races and fancies Take Cover to blast his way to Beverley Bullet glory.
Seven races from three courses live on ITV on Sataturday - and here's who I'll be backing to win them.
1.50 Sandown - Flyers Handicap Stakes, 5f 10y
I don’t have an overly strong view of this race, but I think there are a few horses in form and a few out of it that could quite easily return to something near their best.
The horse with the most obvious credentials in my view is Shamshon, trained by Stuart Williams and ridden by Jim Crowley. He was a course and distance winner on his debut in 2013 and he won well at Newmarket in July.
His two races since have been okay, sixth at Ascot at the end of July and last time out finishing behind Desert Law at York. The six-year-old was pretty well beaten but he’s been drawn in stall four for tomorrow and the closer you can get to the rail the more advantageous it is.
In what is a solid race to kick off things, I think Shamshon is a decent option.
2.10 Chester - Corbettsports.com Chester Stakes, 1m 5f 84y
The horse I like in this one is Graceland, who has a decent draw in stall five. She did remarkably well to finish third last time out in the Shergar Cup Stayers Handicap.
With Louis Steward back on and with the hope that the race goes at a slightly better tempo for this horse, I think that run at Ascot suggests she is still more than capable of winning a handicap off her mark.
2.25 Sandown - Solario Stakes, 7f
This is an interesting race because I’m really tempted to take on Masar and Purser at the top of the market with their prices.
I know it’s only a seven runner race and that Masar was good on debut and in the defeat in the Chesham, but he’s too short a price as the current favourite even though he’s an excellent horse.
In fact, the four last time out winners in this contest all looked impressive in those victories. Romanised also finished sixth in a Group 1 and I think the market is probably underestimating the four or five outside the top two in the betting.
I could make a case for a few of the entries when taking on Masar and Purser, but the horse I think that probably has too big a price is Arbalet.
He will be ridden by Ryan Moore and won really well at Redcar on his most recent run in July, in what was his first run at seven furlongs, having raced at six on both times before.
Like his rivals, he’s got entries in some big races ahead – as you would expect from the runners in this. But the way he won last time out suggests he’s got a decent future over seven furlongs and beyond in time to come.
In a race where we have only got small samples to go by, Arbalet is overpriced. I was also really impressed by Connect when he won at Sandown last month. This is a really good race, I just wouldn’t want to be on the favourite at his price.
2.45 Chester - Corbettsports.com Handicap Stakes, 7f 127y
I’m going each-way with Intransigent from stall three. This is a horse who likes Chester and has won once and finished second on four occasions from 12 races here.
Last time out on the All Weather at Kempton he returned to form by finishing second to Manton Grange. Although he was well beaten, it was just nice to see him back in the winners’ enclosure after a couple of disappointing runs, including one at Chester in May.
He had quite a long break after that Chester run and I’m guessing that something wasn’t quite right with Andrew Balding’s eight-year-old. Now back at a course where he has a good record, I think he ticks a lot of the boxes.
3.00 Sandown - Atalanta Stakes, 1m
This is my best bet of the day, I’m going with the favourite Aljazzi. This basically comes down to a puzzle that we shouldn’t make too complicated. And that’s not a bad mantra for life, either – don’t overcomplicate things!
Aljazzi is officially rated 112. Her nearest market rival and nearest in terms of racing talent is Nathra, with a mark of 108. The official handicapper thinks that Aljazzi is a 4lbs better horse than Nathra and they’re racing off level weight tomorrow.
My second point is that last time out Aljazzi finished second to Qemah in the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot. That piece of form is the best on offer this season.
Current third favourite Intimation finished third in a Group 3 at the Curragh on Sunday, while Nathra has finished sixth in a listed race and third in a Group 2 last time out.
I obviously respect Nathra but sometimes I think we are guilty of trying to find reasons why a horse will improve. If we refuse to overcomplicate matters, Aljazzi is almost too good to be true.
The one horse that could perhaps be quite interesting is Greta G, trained by John Gosden, ridden by James Doyle and wearing a tongue strap for the first time. She could be worth keeping an eye on because she hasn’t actually ran all that badly in good company on her last two appearances.
3.15 Beverley - Totescoop6 Beverley Bullet Sprint Stakes, 5f
Take Cover from stall two is the one for me. He didn’t run his race in the Nunthorpe and back at this level he could be pretty hard to peg back.
He’s pretty quick and you almost have to just let off the handbrake and catch him if you can. The ten-year-old won at York three starts ago and I think he can do it again here.
An obvious problem could be that he might just give Kimberella the perfect start to the race. With Richard Fahey’s horse nearby in stall four, Kimberella may latch on to Take Cover.
Although they’re both good horses, I think Take Cover is the better even if the handicapper thinks it’s the other way.
3.35 Sandown - BetBright Recall Handicap Stakes, 1m 1f 209y
I’m hoping Euginio can round off a successful afternoon for us all. This three-year-old won over course and distance two runs ago, which I like to see when backing horses at Sandown.
Last time out he was beaten by Frankuus in the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes, finishing fourth in the Group 3 when all horses struggled to get near the winner that day.
It was one of those days where he ran alright, but now he’s back at a track he likes, it’s a competitive race and I think he will run well.
I would also be mindful of Oasis Fantasy at a big price. I thought he ran well at Ascot in the Shergar Cup Challenge, finishing third. He’s got Jamie Spencer back on board and with blinkers I can see him running a decent race.