Free horse racing tips: Best Bets for Haydock and Goodwood on Saturday
Andrew Asquith has taken an early look at the action on Saturday and has picked out two bets at Haydock and Goodwood.
Weekend View: Saturday May 25
1pt win Sir Les Patterson in the 1.15 Haydock at 12/1 (Bet365, 10/1 General)
1pt win Qirat in the 1.30 Goodwood at 8/1 (General)
It’s a tricky weekend given the races which are priced up, with several horses having multiple entries in handicaps at both Goodwood and Haydock, while there is also Sandown’s premier evening fixture on Thursday where a couple of horses who looked interesting have been declared.
The Silver Bowl Handicap at Haydock on Saturday has the potential to cut up with this in mind and the likely absence of Balmacara and Ice Max, who are both set to run in the Heron Stakes on Thursday, takes two potential big players out of the reckoning.
One horse who has a sole entry in the Silver Bowl and one I’ve been excited about for handicaps is SIR LES PATTERSON. He made a promising debut over a mile at Kempton in November, knowing his job leaving the stalls and soon sent to the lead, where he displayed signs of inexperience but stayed on well to the line to finish third behind two promising types who have boosted the form since.
He built on that promise as expected dropped to seven furlongs at Southwell next time, again given a positive ride and winning with a bit up his sleeve, his rider never panicking when challenged approaching the final furlong and he was asserting at the line, landing good support in the process.
The bare form of that success is nothing special, but Sir Les Patterson found another jolt of improvement to defy a penalty after four months off back at Kempton at the beginning of April, taking a lead this time but again impressing with how he moved through his race, and always finding enough when produced to lead entering the final furlong. The timefigure he recorded that day gives the form extra substance and he is potentially well treated from an opening mark of 88.
The one unknown with him is the switch to turf, as he has raced solely on the all-weather so far, but there is no obvious reason looking at his pedigree why he won’t be at least as effective on grass. The ground at the time of writing is good to firm, good in places, but Haydock are reporting they could get up to 22mm of rain on Wednesday. That will obviously have an effect on the ground, but with warm temperatures set for the rest of the week, it shouldn’t be bottomless come Saturday.
The return to a mile shouldn’t be an issue for Sir Les Patterson, either, especially at Haydock which is a rather sharp track, and I do like strong-travelling types who race close to the pace at this course. I thought double-figure prices were fair given I’d say he will be rated a fair bit higher than 88 later in the season and he arrives with a run under his belt.
Another handicap debutant who looks very interesting on Saturday comes in the first race at Goodwood on Saturday in the shape of QIRAT. He is from a good family – notably a half-brother to Bluestocking, who developed into a smart filly as a three-year-old and recently won the Middleton Stakes at York – and he is just the type to progress through the ranks this season.
He stood out in the preliminaries ahead of his debut at Newmarket last summer and it was only his lack of experience which cost him making a winning start, getting the hang of things too late in the day but not beaten far.
Qirat duly built on that promise when landing cramped odds at Kempton on his next start, overcoming a wide draw and ridden with plenty of positivity, recording a good timefigure in the process.
He failed to land the odds under a penalty at Salisbury when last seen in October, but Timeform described the ground as heavy that day and he didn’t shape badly all things considered, doing all of his best work at the finish behind one who received a good front-running ride. That rival has since hit the frame in the Horris Hill at Newmarket and was beaten a neck from a mark of 95 at Dundalk.
The form of his Kempton win has worked out well, with a multiple number of handicap winners in behind, while Secret Satire didn’t nothing wrong for the Salisbury race either when winning the Musidora at York last week.
As mentioned previously, he has a pedigree which suggests that he will keep progressing with age, while his physique also backs up that theory, a strong, attractive sort who should have grown into himself over the winter months. It is also interesting that he has been gelded since last seen.
On what he achieved last season, an opening mark of 88 seems more than fair and, though he will likely excel over a mile or further this season, he didn’t lack for speed last season and this looks a good starting point for him on ground which looks like being the easy side of good.
- Preview posted 1315 BST on 21/5/2024
More from Sporting Life
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.
Next Off
Most Followed
MOST READ RACING
