Rory Delargy has a couple of tips for today's card at Carlisle.
Racing betting tips: Wednesday June 24
1pt win I Can Dance in the 15:30 Carlisle at 5/1 (General) - no lower
1pt e.w Swift Salian in the 16:35 Carlisle at 12/1 (General – 1/5 1,2,3,4,5) - min 10/1
Barley won this race in 2024 and has returned to form on his last two starts, so has obvious claims having slipped comfortably below his last winning mark. On the other hand, his losing run has now reached 28 and for all he tends to give his running when conditions are right, his rate of conversion is a definite concern.
It’s always worth noting the future entries of any handicap debutants, with trainers who feel their horses may be well treated often making multiple entries in the week following that handicap bow with a view to taking advantage of the penalty system. There is one such horse here, namely the Charlie Johnston-trained I Can Dance, who has entries in the next few days at Salisbury and Lingfield and has the profile of a potential improver, having gained his mark in three quick runs last autumn.
I Can Dance went close on all three starts in maiden/novice company while looking a little immature, and the son of Bated Breath is sure to do better with experience. The pair who beat him at Kempton when last seen are now rated in the mid-to-high 80’s so, given he was beaten only 1¼ lengths, an opening mark of 79 looks more than workable and it would be no surprise to see him score before building up a sequence.
16:02 Carlisle – Eternal Stakes (Listed) 6f195y
Ellusive Butterfly won the Surrey Stakes at Epsom on her latest start and is just about the pick on that effort, but she is back on much quicker ground and I didn’t think she looked comfortable on firmish ground on the only other occasion she raced on such a surface. Heavy watering brings her into things but preference on a quick surface is for Golden Palace, who won her first two starts – both on good to firm – and has been highly tried since.
She was better than ever when third to Circe in the Edinburgh Gin Queen of Scots Stakes at Musselburgh over this trip recently and is likely to benefit from the stiff finish kept to 7f. Albaydan has plenty to find on ratings but improved to win here last time on similar ground and could be improving rapidly enough to prove a serious danger, albeit with that possibility telegraphed by the market.
High numbers do well here when the ground is soft but on quick turf, those drawn low to middle tend to have the edge in big fields and the last three runnings of this race on a firmish surface have seen all but one of winners and placed horses come from single-figure stalls, with the outlier being the high-class Chichester, who overcame stall 12 when winning off a lenient mark of 85 in 2021.
Given those figures aand concentrating on those who will relish trip and ground, I’ve landed on Swift Salian, a C&D winner who arrives here in form albeit beaten on all three starts this season. Three second in a row might be a concern to some, but he’s run into unexposed or well-treated rivals each time, and I have noted that the horses who finished third in all three of those starts in handicaps have been successful since, underlining that the form is solid.
Swift Salian is one of a trio from the in-form David & Nicola Barron stable and has a good draw and handy running style which should enable him to take up an advantageous track position. He’s handicapped to go well, is in good heart and is proven on both ground and course, so has plenty to recommend him in a typically open renewal of the Bell.
- Preview posted 10:05 BST on 24/06/2026
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