Our form expert has three selections for Saturday's ITV Racing at Ascot and Haydock.
The Verdict: Saturday January 18
1pt win Richmond Lake in 2.30 Haydock at 16/1 (William Hill)
1pt win Altobelli in 2.50 Ascot at 11/2 (William Hill)
1pt win Young Jack in 3.05 Haydock at 14/1 (bet365, Betfair, Paddy Power)
Alto can register overdue win
Harry Fry has had a quiet season so far but he had a big winner with Gidleigh Park at Windsor on Friday and he might just snare the BetMGM Holloway’s Handicap Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday with ALTOBELLI as well.
Fry has had to be ultra-patient with Altobelli who has had eight starts in four seasons but he looks to be well-handicapped for his maturity and even better is expected now he goes up in trip.
The only previous time he tried 2m3f he bolted up by 25 lengths at Carlisle and while he merely outclassed a novice field that day, he has shaped like such a trip is what he really wants during his endeavours over two miles ever since.
Fry has an exceptional record at Ascot, his overall 24% strike-rate rising to 33% in the month of January, so it’s no surprise Altobelli has been targeted at some big races at this track, running second to Knickerbockerglory and third to Luccia here over two miles last season.
He ran well in those races while racing a bit too freely, hence why he has been kept to two miles, but he finally looks to be a bit more tractable and it was good to see him switch off as well as he did at Doncaster last time after Norman Fletcher jumped across him at the first.
That incident could have lit him up but he raced efficiently in the hands of Rex Dingle, who held him up in the rear and lost ground when he made an untidy jump at the third from home.
With loads of ground to make up from there he fairly flew home up the stands’ rail to lose out by just a length, shaping every inch like he’s finally ready to step up to 2m3f.
A likely strong gallop can help him settle under Bryan Carver over this trip and Fry has applied cheekpieces, as well, so there are quite a few angles for potential improvement.
I’d have him challenging for favouritism and the general 5/1 is fair.
The Verdict: Back ALTOBELLI in the 2.50 Ascot
Dive into Lake in Peter Marsh
Over at Haydock there’s a precautionary inspection but it looks likely to get the green light as Royale Pagaille bids to defy a mark of 166 in the Sky Bet Peter Marsh Chase.
He could do and it makes for interesting viewing, but I would rather back Donald McCain’s RICHMOND LAKE at 16/1 against him.
The chase track is heavy in places and with a cold night in store it’s going to be very hard work, but Richmond Lake won’t mind that as he’s twice a winner on heavy ground.
He isn’t proven over this far, but he is bred for it being related to staying chase winners like Killard Point and Zemsky, while his sole run over three miles came in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster where he finished ninth after making a bad mistake early.
That doesn’t prove anything regarding this test as far as I’m concerned and he has shaped well in two starts over trips around two and a half miles this campaign, emerging from the fog at Aintree to chase home the well-handicapped Imperial Saint last time.
He has run well in two starts at Haydock, chasing home Saturday’s top-biller Jonbon here in his novice hurdle days before he won a novice handicap chase at this track in his debut season over fences.
You would think he’ll travel away nicely over this trip under Brian Hughes and he can creep into contention for a yard who traditionally do well with their runners at this track at this time of year.
The Verdict: Back RICHMOND LAKE in the 2.30 Haydock
Stay Young at Haydock
Finally, it could be worth taking a chance on Chris Grant's YOUNG JACK in the Sky Bet Cheltenham Non-Runner No Bet Handicap Hurdle over three miles on the same card half an hour later.
He was found to have an irregular heartbeat after being well beaten at Kelso last time, but he was sent off 4/1 favourite for that race after impressing at the same track the time before.
His last run is probably worth drawing a line through, though, especially as it also came on livelier than ideal ground, and if you go back to his Kelso win on soft ground two starts ago he shaped like a progressive stayer when making all to win well.
Testing ground and a flat left-handed track holds no fears for him, as he won his maiden on heavy at Newcastle 11 months ago, while Grant won this race seven years ago with Donna’s Diamond so it’s probably been on his radar a while.
He's unlikely to get his own way out in front with Bushypark and Tiny Tetley likely to keep him company, but a prominent ride often pays dividends in this sort of race at this track and he can bounce back from his poor run last time out.
The Verdict: Back YOUNG JACK in the 3.05 Haydock
Preview posted at 1555 GMT on 17/01/25
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