Musselburgh comes under the spotlight on Saturday
Ben Linfoot's Value Bet: Free racing tips for Musselburgh and Haydock
By Ben Linfoot
Horse Racing
Sat April 20, 2019 · 6y ago
Our racing expert Ben Linfoot previews Saturday's meetings at Musselburgh and Haydock and he's got three selections for the afternoon's action.
Recommended Bets: Saturday, April 20
2pts win Cause Toujours in 2.05 Haydock at 7/1
1pt win Saaheq in 3.00 Musselburgh at 12/1
1pt win Pipes Of Peace in 3.35 Musselburgh at 12/1
For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, visit our transparent tipping record
Mark Johnston won the All-Weather Marathon final at Lingfield on Good Friday with Watersmeet and he could land another big stayers' prize at Musselburgh on Saturday when he unleashes a four-strong team in the Queen’s Cup Stakes over 1m6f (3.35).
As you would expect, the Johnston quartet tend to make the running with Austrian School, Making Miracles, Lucky Deal and Hochfeld all used to racing prominently and all four find themselves in the top seven in the betting.
They could well dictate the tempo of the race, but they aren’t likely to be alone with My Reward, Tor, Ulster and Artarmon also used to making the running and we do have the potential for a really strong gallop in this.
That isn’t necessarily a negative for team Johnston, but it does look a positive for Seamus Durack’s PIPES OF PEACE and at 12/1 (General) he looks underestimated on his first go at the trip.
I think he'll relish the step up in distance, as this son of Galileo often stays on strongly over 1m4f and he's a half-brother to a 1m6f winner in Dynaperformer.
He’s been really consistent for Durack since being gelded and having had wind surgery, the former Aidan O'Brien-trained horse finishing in the top three five times at Kempton including an easy victory back in November.
Last time he ran a cracker in the Rosebery, relishing the strong pace and beating all bar the impressive winner Forbidden Planet, who followed up his Kempton victory with a commendable second from a wide draw at Newcastle on Good Friday.
Pipes Of Peace just bumped into one there and he was a tad fortunate to remain on a mark of 92, a rating he should be competitive off for his return to the turf.
His improvement has come on the all-weather, but there's no reason why he can't maintain his progression back on the grass and he's worth chancing at 12s on his first go at the distance.
Earlier on at Musselburgh it's the Scottish Sprint Cup Handicap at 3.00 and the bet in this looks to be SAAHEQ (12/1 Coral, Ladbrokes) for The Horse Watchers and Mick Appleby.
Appleby has won this race a couple of times recently, including last year with Caspian Prince, and Saaheq is fit and firing ahead of his return to turf following a productive winter on the all-weather.
He won by two lengths over five furlongs at Chelmsford in February off a mark of 79 and he bounced back from bursting a blood vessel at the same track next time when going down by a short head in second at Southwell just over two weeks ago.
That was a good effort, as he gave a lot of weight to the rest of the field and he was only headed late on, losing out by a whisker.
He runs off the same mark on Saturday, and though this is a much more competitive race he's really interesting returning to five furlongs on turf in what looks sure to be a fast and furious race.
That should suit, as will the nature of the track, and it's worth remembering his last two runs over five on turf were cosy victories at Doncaster and Sandown last September.
Drawn close to the stands' rail in 15 and with pace around him, Hollie Doyle can deliver Saaheq late and anything bigger than 10/1 looks fair.
A good Cause at Haydock
Finally, there are three races on ITV4 live from Haydock and the first of those, the Betway Challenger Two Mile Hurdle Series Final Handicap Hurdle, has attracted a field of 16.
CAUSE TOUJOURS was nibbled at on Friday afternoon, but I still think he’s worth backing at 7/1 (General) for Ian Williams.
He qualified for this at Carlisle back in October, the first of three races in which he was second in small fields. Those sort of races don’t really suit, as he can be keen, but he's had a nice break since his last run and I think he’ll thrive in this bigger field.
The last time he came to Haydock was in November and he ran well, finishing second to Grand Sancy, trading at 1.01 in-running when he went clear, only to get caught late on by the Paul Nicholls horse.
That was off level weights and Grand Sancy is rated 152 now, so there's hope that Cause Toujours is well treated off 132, especially now he lines up in a big-field handicap that should play to his strengths.
Ben Linfoot's Value Bet aim: The Value Bet is designed to generate long-term profit by searching for overpriced horses in the feature weekend races and at the big Festivals in the UK and Ireland. Running total: +331.69pts to advised stakes/prices (from inception of Value Bet column in January 2010 to current).
Click here for the full Value Bet record
Posted at 1700 BST on 19/04/19.
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