Racing betting tips: Saturday May 22
1pt win Lincoln Park in 1.55 Haydock at 10/1 (BetVictor, bet365)
1pt win Dash Of Spice in 2.25 Haydock at 14/1 (BetVictor, bet365)
1pt win Tribal Craft in 2.40 York at 12/1 (Hills, bet365)
1pt win Teodolina in 3.00 Haydock at 8/1 (General)
1pt win Isabella Giles in 3.35 Haydock at 7/1 (bet365)
Saturday thankfully might offer a little respite in terms of the wet weather up and down the country but following 13mm of rain on Thursday it’s going to be particularly tough going at Haydock, where ISABELLA GILES will be in her element.
Everything about her form this year and last suggests a testing six furlongs in the Casumo Bet10Get10 Sandy Lane Stakes will be ideal, while Clive Cox could obviously have aimed Diligent Harry and/or Supremacy at this specific target en route to Royal Ascot.
Instead it’s the filly representing the trainer, who is a bit of a master when it comes to three-year-old sprinters having overseen the careers of a number of stars and won last year’s Commonwealth Cup with Golden Horde.
Isabella Giles won the Prestige Stakes at Goodwood and the Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket as a juvenile – both over seven furlongs – which clearly entitled her to have a crack at the Fillies’ Mile. She didn’t stay the trip there but it was a red-hot race with the likes of Mother Earth, Dubai Fountain and Snowfall also among the vanquished.
This term the daughter of Belardo has clocked two more very respectable efforts at seven furlongs, racing keenly on each occasion before ending up sixth in the Fred Darling and a close third in a Lingfield Group Three.
The Newbury form is strong with the winner going off favourite and performing well in the 1000 Guineas, fourth Primo Bacio bolting up at York, and 10th Happy Romance another winner to emerge from the race, while Isabella Giles was carrying a 5lb penalty and was also in against older campaigners at Lingfield last time.
She might not be able to lead up Dragon Symbol but she’s bound to sit prominently dropping back to six furlongs for the first time since last summer’s Princess Margaret, and I strongly suspect she’ll relish the conditions far more than Archie Watson’s unbeaten market leader.
The booking of Tom Marquand for DASH OF SPICE in the Download The Casumo App Today Handicap looks something of a statement of intent from trainer Adrian Keatley and the seven-year-old’s experience could be a key asset in what promises to be a gruelling two-miler.
Marquand – 1-1 for the Classic-winning trainer having been on York handicap winner Wobwobwob last week – rode Dash Of Spice a couple of times at the back-end of last season when still with David Elsworth, including a rallying second to Tulip Fields over a mile and a half on bad ground at Doncaster.
The winner, third and fourth were all relatively unexposed three-year-olds and it was probably the horse’s best effort since his Epsom-Royal Ascot double in the summer of 2018. He failed to back it up in the November Handicap when last seen, not disgraced though finishing ninth of 23, but I can excuse him that with the switch to this much longer distance an intriguing move on seasonal/stable debut.
There’s no doubt he lacks a change of gear from those younger days and if he stays this far then we know he’ll act on the ground, he has gone well fresh in the past, and he’s definitely weighted to win again off a mark of 93 (5lb lower than aforementioned Ascot triumph). He’s well worth a dart at double-figure prices.
LINCOLN PARK is another with very few secrets from the assessor these days but looks the one to be on at the odds in the Casumo Horse Racing And Sports Betting Handicap over seven furlongs.
He switched yards from Michael Appleby to Tom Dascombe last autumn, placing twice on testing turf before bombing out completely at Chelmsford on November 26. He defied a subsequent break to win well at Southwell in mid-March and I’m inclined to forgive him the two starts back on the grass since, when sent off favourite (or joint-favourite) on each occasion.
The drying ground at Doncaster seemed to catch him out and he palpably used up too much petrol in the first half of the race when trying to overcome stall 11 at Chester last time.
He’s been eased in the ratings again and can compete off the same mark as when scoring at Southwell (83). He’s very effective off that kind of perch with his last three wins coming off 83, 85 and 83. One of those victories was here on heavy ground so there’s plenty in his favour including a kinder draw (stall five) than at Chester.
There’s not a huge turnout for the Join Casumo Today Silver Bowl Handicap, but it’s not like you can rule many of them out.
Raadobarg could wind up being Group class, while Heights Of Abraham and Wobwobwob are turned out quickly following recent wins but TEODOLINA is the one being underestimated in the market.
She was a good two-year-old and bumped into Zeyaadah and Mystery Angel when pitched into Listed company at Newmarket in October. She understandably found that tough but looked an improved model when making a successful seasonal debut at Ascot.
Defying a pretty big price there too, Richard Hannon’s filly proved how tough she was to get on top close home but she displayed gears too, plotting a potentially tricky path to get into the firing line in the first place.
The form has yet to be franked but fourth Invincible Swagger ran in the Heron Stakes on Thursday night, with the third Dejame Paso contesting the red-hot London Gold Cup at Newbury last weekend, so I’m not reading too much into that and Teodolina – who acts well on soft and won her novice at Haydock in September – could well be up to defying her revised rating (90).
I can leave the seven-runner Casumo Best Odds Guaranteed Temple Stakes well alone, likewise the two ITV4 races from Goodwood, but there’s a couple of televised races fully priced up at York too.
I’m a big fan of Pendleton, who hasn’t been missed around 7/1 in the williamhill.com Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap, but TRIBAL CRAFT merits a financial interest on the Knavesmire.
Her trainer Andrew Balding could hardly be in better form and I’m not sure her Ascot second was given quite as much credit as it appeared to deserve. She was obviously kicked into touch by runaway winner Albaflora but it’s not quite clear yet where the ceiling of that one’s ability lies, and it’s hard to believe the next eight home at Ascot all underperformed quite so badly.
Their ratings ranged from 100 to 110 at the time so Tribal Craft being left on 96 looks quite cautious and she wouldn’t be out of the reckoning in Saturday’s William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies’ Stakes had the form from Ascot been taken a little more literally.
It could be argued that the five-year-old is just a late-maturing mare, which wouldn’t be at odds with her pedigree, and a quiet ride back up to a mile and three-quarters on soft ground around York promises to play to her strengths. She’s big enough at 12/1 to make the staking plan.
Published at 1600 BST on 21/05/21
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