Ben tipped Major Dundee at 20/1 last week

Ben Linfoot free Saturday horse racing tips for the Curragh, Kelso and Newbury March 25

By Ben Linfoot

15:56 · SAT March 25, 2023

Our man tipped the Midlands National winner Major Dundee at 20/1 in last week's preview - don't miss his selections from the Curragh, Kelso and Newbury on Saturday.

The Verdict tips: Saturday March 25

1pt win Lagonda in 2.40 Newbury at 20/1 (bet365, 16/1 General)

1pt win Walk Of No Shame in 3.00 Kelso at 11/1 (BetVictor, Ladbrokes)

1pt win No More Porter in 3.25 Curragh at 12/1 (General)

1pt win Star Harbour in 3.25 Curragh at 20/1 (General)

1pt win Delightful in 3.57 Curragh at 7/1 (Hills)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

McGuinness pair of interest at the Curragh

The best racing is in Ireland on Saturday as the Flat season begins at the Curragh and the Paddy Power Irish Lincolnshire is a cracking puzzle enlivened by a couple of English raiders in Totally Charming and Lattam.

In a role reversal of Cheltenham, the Newmarket-trained pair have gone straight to the head of the market with George Boughey’s Totally Charming clear favourite after signing off last season with a convincing win over seven furlongs in heavy ground at Doncaster.

He’s respected, but he is up 8lb here and William Haggas’ Lattam is harder to fancy after being well beaten in two handicaps at Yarmouth and York, while neither have fared particularly well with the draw.

I’d rather side with the home contingent and Ado McGuinness is the man to focus on. He won this race two years ago with Bowerman and he saddled the third and fourth last year, so it should be worth going through his contenders even if he does have nine and a reserve as well – just in case.

The two I like are STAR HARBOUR and NO MORE PORTER and I’ll be splitting stakes on the pair.

Star Harbour has loads of big-field Curragh form to his name, including when he was third in this race 12 months ago off an identical mark, and I like that he’s proven over further.

A strong gallop at a mile suits him well and he looked the likely winner of this race in 2022 when he made his move inside the last quarter mile, only to be blindsided by the well-handicapped favourite Raadobarg.

He has a very similar profile to 2014 winner Stuccodor given he’s fit from hurdling and the visor is reapplied – he won in the 'v1' – and a bold bid is expected with Gavin Ryan back in the saddle.

No More Porter is a new stablemate for Star Harbour as he was formerly trained by Johnny Feane, who always got the best out of him when he ran him at the Curragh.

His record here includes winning a 30-runner race, being second in a 27-runner field, beating last year’s Irish Lincoln runner-up Comfort Line over a mile and when he was last seen he was second of 20 losing out by just a neck.

On top of that he goes very well in soft-heavy ground, so conditions should be no bother to him, and he didn’t go up in the handicap for some very good efforts in defeat at this track last season.

Wayne Lordan, one from one on the horse, is booked for the ride, and even though he’s the shortest of the McGuinness 10 in the betting, he’s still worth getting onside at 12/1.

The Verdict: Back Star Harbour and No More Porter in the Irish Lincolnshire

Delightful chance in the Park Express

Aidan O’Brien wouldn’t be renowned for starting the Irish Flat season with a bang, but he did win the Group 3 Lodge Park Stud Irish EBF Park Express Stakes last year with Mother Earth and he might win it again on Saturday with DELIGHTFUL.

Mother Earth was four and a proven Group 1 winner when landing this and Delightful is a three-year-old climbing through the ranks, but it looks a good opportunity for her getting 17lb on the weight-for-age scale against a bunch of older fillies that look short of top-class.

Delightful is a full-sister to Minding, Tuesday and Empress Josephine, all Classic winners who won first time out over a mile at three, and though she may well develop into an Oaks contender like the first two named, this looks a lovely starting point.

Rated 92, she has to improve to win this, but her pedigree could hardly be more alluring with improvement in mind and her juvenile form has worked out really well.

She’ll likely improve for this run and it may come too soon in her development, but I can't leave her unbacked. Hills were first up at 7s but it could be worth shopping around in the morning.

The Verdict: Back Delightful in the 3.57 Curragh

Two to back for the ITV4 action

It’s low-key stuff in the UK as the jumps season lurches from Cheltenham to Aintree but there are a couple of good handicaps to get stuck into including the British EBF BetVictor ‘National Hunt’ Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.

I was a little surprised Venetia Williams hadn’t targeted this race more often in the past but she has this year with LAGONDA (20/1) and while she has been struggling for winners, a Ffos Las double on Wednesday hints at light at the end of the tunnel.

Lagonda has an interesting profile having spent a lot of time point-to-pointing but she has quickly improved under Rules, progressing by 7lb and then 14lb on Timeform ratings from start to start and further improvement looks likely.

She ran well in third at Warwick in a race that is working out well two starts ago and that got her qualified for this race before she switched to fences at Exeter, running a blinder in second after jumping well in the lead throughout.

The horse that beat her a head, Lazy Sunday, has won twice since and is now rated 21lb higher, while the horse that finished six lengths behind her in third, Eros, went down by a neck at Warwick on Wednesday, so the form looks red hot.

She has gone up 6lb for this return to hurdles, but I think she’s progressing quickly and anticipate a bold bid from a prominent position.

As an aside, she’s by Great Pretender, a sire who is 6/26 at 23% with his progeny over jumps at Newbury – with one of those wins coming from Bourbon Beauty who won this race from the front in 2021.

One who ran behind Lagonda at Warwick was Jonjo O’Neill’s mare WALK OF NO SHAME and she’s also worth backing at 10/1 in the BetVictor Herring Queen Series Final Mares’ Novices’ Handicap Hurdle up at Kelso.

The Walk In the Park mare also boosted Lagonda’s form when she came out of Warwick and won by five lengths at Lingfield, before she was beaten at 4/7 at Wincanton when the emphasis was on speed.

She’s a strong-staying two-miler and will appreciate the likely solid gallop in this better contest, especially with Never No Trouble, Jane Du Berlais and Midnight Shuffle likely to make it a test at the trip.

Jonjo likes a spring winner at Kelso – he’s 7/24 at 29.17% at this track in March and April – and this mare is the only horse making the 600 mile round trip from his Jackdaws Castle yard on Saturday.

The Verdict: Back Lagonda at Newbury and Walk Of No Shame at Kelso

Preview posted at 1545 GMT on 24/03/2023

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