talkSPORT have you covered with free horse racing tips and free bets on Saturday’s fixture at Ascot.
Tom Lunn has gone through the cards, form, going and much more to help guide your horse racing betting choices.
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Saturday racing tips
- ASCOT
1.15: Scarface 11/4 (1pt)
1.50: Fil Dor 11/2 (1pt)
2.25: Strong Leader, Hiddenvalley Lake & Crambo – Combination Exacta (1.5pts)
3.35: Be Aware 9/2 (1pt) - COURSE
TIME: HORSE odds/1 (1pt)
TIME: HORSE odds/1 (1pt)
Scarface
Ascot hosts the Long Walk Hurdle on Saturday ahead of the busy festive fixtures next week but there’s plenty of races in Berkshire alongside the feature races.
The first one to focus on is the Class 2 Howden Handicap Chase which sees a wide open contest with Scarface, Galop De Chasse and Kotmask close to co-favourites.
Scarface and Galop De Chasse were second and third respectively last time out behind Le Patron at Newbury which was a marked improvement for Scarface.
He’s much less exposed than his reappearing rival and has gone down to this dangerous weight which he can make the most of here, where crucially he has won at before.
Fil Dor
There’s potential for a big price in a four-runner event, especially this one that sees Iroko who hasn’t won in three runs and James Du Berlais who hasn’t won since January 2023.
Fil Dor looks like he has real potential at six-years-old despite not running well toward the end of last season.
He’s bounced back now though with a decent second behind Saint Sam and then he was an easy winner when 1/40 favourite last time out.
This is the same horse that was close behind Dinoblue at Naas despite carrying 7lb more and also not far off El Fabiolo a month later at Cork.
Combination Exacta – Strong Leader, Hiddenvalley Lake & Crambo
Crambo won this last year by a short head to Paisley park when he was rated 142, before subsequently being upped by 15lb.
Since then he’s not really been running well, with two disappointing runs at Cheltenham and Aintree in March and April.
A break will be beneficial where he can backed with some optimism but at the same time comes with a risk attached.
Hiddenvalley Lake appeals quite a lot after his close run at Aintree in the Liverpool Hurdle, won by Strong Leader, as he’s still quite unexposed over this kind of distance and could well improve back from his summer break.
At 9/1 he’s much better value than the favourite who he has close form with, though Strong Leader has won again this season, in the Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury last month.
His win in the Liverpool Hurdle was impressive and tipped at 8/1 he was then just a 4/7 shot last time out, which goes to show just how good those wins have been.
These long distance hurdle contests are always the highlight of the day and this should be no different with chances from across the field, it should make for a great battle to the line.
The value is with Hiddenvalley Lake, but this kind of race is ideal for an exacta or trifecta play too with the horses mentioned for a much bigger payout given the money is spread out across the field.
Be Aware
Dan Skelton and Harry Skelton are in incredible form this season and Be Aware, their five-year-old grey gelding put in a tremendous effort to come second on seasonal debut just behind Burdett Road.
That confirmed his ability and even hinted a lot at improvement over the course of the summer as the horse showed great form behind the likes of Helnwein and Kamsinas in Spring 2024.
With four 2nd place finishes they will be keen to get this horse out in front again as he managed on debut in a field of 16.
Tom Lunn’s Profit/Loss
- November ’24: +53.11
- From May ’24: +207.47pts
- From July ’23: +420.37pts
All odds correct at time of writing
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