Today's tips: Racing preview and best bets

Racing betting tips: Saturday April 27

2pts The Real Whacker in 2.25 Sandown at 5/2 (General, min 9/4)

1pt Ey Up It’s Jazz in the 4.55 Leicester at 5/2 (Bet365, min 9/4)

Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook

2:25 Sandown

This looks a much easier task than a few The Real Whacker has been asked this season, and he can put his solid jumping to good use around a track that often rewards it.

This intermediate trip could be ideal for him too, as he’s not really an out-and-out stayer; he won last year’s Brown Advisory with an injection of speed, then hung on, and with an easy lead pretty much guaranteed here, he’s going to take some pegging back. Solid efforts in both the King George and Cotswold Chase give him every chance of success if he can repeat that sort of form here, and you can easily forgive a poor run in heavy ground (according to Timeform) in the Gold Cup last time. 5-2 looks a fair price to make all.

3:35 Sandown

Our ante-post piece that we did a few weeks ago already sees us with a point on Le Milos at 11s, and whilst we’ve no intentions on pressing the bet up at the moment, our reasonings for being with him then are much the same here - for all he’s been kept to hurdles this season, a late-season chase might always have been the plan anyway. He was the one horse that, Festival week, I thought might come on a bit for a run from the Skelton yard and as long as we don’t have an absolute deluge overnight, the ground should be fine for him today.

In truth, finding a backup bet is not easy. Kitty’s Light is obvious enough but this is something of an afterthought after his Grand National fifth, so maybe Slipway and Courtland are of more interest.

Neither have form at this level, which is a clear negative, but Slipway does at least come here off the back of a good win at Kempton and if he can put two good runs together, would have place chances, and Courtland does have some summer-jumps form, such as his second to Born Famous in the Summer Plate at Rasen last July, that would give him a squeak. His profile reminds me a little of Henllan Harri, Bowen’s 2017 winner, in so much as it’s progressive, but all at a lower level. At 50s, which was around yesterday, he might be worth a small each-way dabble after his lucky Hereford win last time out but that price just isn’t there at the time of publication.

4:55 Leicester

Away from Sandown, there’s not a lot to get stuck into. We won’t be going near Haydock for the time being, thankyou very much, and Ripon’s small fields mean we’ll not be betting there either. However, the closer at Leicester offers us the chance to back last year’s winner Ey Up It’s Jazz, who is following the same pattern as last year, namely a warm-up for this after a pipe-opener at Thirsk at the start of the month. Soft/heavy ground poses no problems to him and whilst he’s higher in the weights this time around, he still holds a very good chance of doubling up.

Posted at 0900 BST on 27/04/24

TV bundle giveaway

We're giving away a smart TV as part of our Ultimate Sports Fan competition.

To enter, simply answer the question below and one lucky winner will be selected at random.

For full details, click here.

Key terms and conditions

• 18+
• Sporting Life account required
• One entry per person
• Eligibility restrictions apply
• Further T&Cs apply

Want to know more about horse welfare within our sport?

Click on the image or here to visit the new HorsePWR website

Recent success

• Village Master 11/4
• Musique de Fee 14/1
• Annexation 20/1
• Ballinsker 10/1
• R Bernard 7/1
• Woodstock 9/2
• Warrior Square 9/1
• Bungle Bay 9/2
• Written Broadcast 15/2 (placed)
• Shakem Up'Arry 10/1
• Slade Steel 9/2
• Absolute Dream 12/1
• Young Endless 15/8
• Ithaca’s Arrow 5/1
• Passing Kate 5/2
• Bletchley Park 10/1
• Destinado 5/1
• Diligent Harry 10/3
• Whosmydaddy 7/2
• Green Power 7/2
• Al Suil Eile 10/1
• Peacenik 14/1 (placed)
• Big Bee Hive 5/1
• Oliver Show 9/2
• Lone Star 20/1 (placed)
• Nickle Back 14/1

Recent Sporting Life Plus Winners

• Bashers Reflection 4/1
• Asian Spice 3/1

More from Sporting Life

• Racecards
• Fast results
• Full results and free video replays
• Horse racing news
• Horse racing tips
• Horse racing features
• Download our free iOS and Android app
• Football and other sports tips
• Podcasts and video content

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.