Our horse racing tipster offers up his selections from Saturday's action at Down Royal, Ascot and Wetherby, including the first Grade 1 of the season.
When starting something new like this you’re always craving for that first winner. Last week, after various clanks of the goal post, we found our way into the winners circle with Butch Cassidy to round out a level first week at the office. There are always some winners that mean more than others, and Butch Cassidy will always have a place in my heart for it.
The show rolls on and we have plenty of high-profile meeting this weekend on both sides of the Irish Sea, and I am going to be covering a smattering of the action.
Starting at Down Royal, which hosts the first Grade 1 of the season in the Down Royal Champion Chase at 3.15, this year named and honoured by one of its former winners, the great Envoi Allen. Henry De Bromhead shall be hoping that Heart Wood can fit into those large shoes, just as he did at Cheltenham last year. There are plenty of others in here with plausible claims, but this is often Gordon Elliott’s meeting and I am a sucker for an unexposed second-season chaser.
Romeo Coolio 7/2 fits the bill in this case, with the exciting novice from last season managing to succeed in three Grade 1s on the bounce before falling short in the Brown Advisory. There are definite question marks over this trip, but not judged on that Cheltenham run, which did feel like just one step to the moon too far after a long and arduous season. He has been given more than necessary time to recover from those exertions and this fact-finding mission will see whether he is King George bound or not. Given his dismantling of Koktail Divin at this meeting last year, I feel he should be more than able to fight his corner, and 7/2 seems a fair price to me.
Back Romeo Coolio at 7/2 in the 3.15 at Down Royal
Ascot’s card, run on typically quick ground given the extreme lack of rain over the summer, still looks competitive in many spaces. The Regal Encore Handicap Chase at 2.33 has a 10-strong field and one could make a case for plenty in here. Given his course record and his penchant for decent ground, Neon Moon 10/1 makes the most appeal here at an each-way price. He ran a good race to be fifth in this race last year after being hampered twice early on, and followed that up with an excellent win over 2m5f later in November on decent ground again. His form since then has gone the wrong way, but that is not atypical of this horse and he has always been at his best at this course. I am hoping that a return here, alongside being a pound lower than his last winning mark, does the trick. A price of 11/1 each way seems more than reasonable for me.
Back Neon Moon at 11/1 in the 2.33 at Ascot
And finally Wetherby, where I am going to wait until the final race of the card – the 3m handicap chase at 4.03 – to play my final card in the deck. Upfordebate 3/1 has already been in sparkling form this season, winning his last two, and I am hoping that just the pound rise for his win at Kelso last time out won’t be enough to stop a hat-trick bid. Patrick Neville has his team in tip-top shape at the moment and he has plenty of chances throughout the card. This horse tops the lot for me, though – as I felt he did well to win at Kelso despite jumping poorer than usual and not getting into his rhythm. A strong traveller and a sound jumper in the main, I am hopeful he can defy top weight here.
Back Upfordebate in the 4.03 at Wetherby
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