The horse racing broadcaster makes his picks for this weekend's British racing as the mares take the spotlight at Kelso and Newbury.
A welcome dose of spring is leading to drying ground this weekend, when the mares hold centre stage at both Kelso and Newbury, which – along with one race from Bangor – make up the 10‑race ITV4 coverage.
Up at Kelso, Khrisma will understandably be all the rage in the Herring Queen Final, having bypassed the Festival. Nico de Boinville makes the long journey north for just the one ride, but she is quite short in the market given the field size and the fact she can be very keen.
Better betting opportunities may be found in a couple of other Kelso races, starting with SUNSET MARQUESA 8/1 (13:00 Kelso). She capsized at the sixth in the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, so it is easy to assume this is an afterthought, but she appears to hold reasonable claims stepping up in trip for the first time. It will be Joe Tizzard’s first runner at the track and Brendan Powell’s first ride there since winning on Court Master in 2021. Sunset Marquesa has improved steadily this season but will appreciate the ease in grade after running in Graded races the last twice. There appears to be an element of recency bias in her price, especially as standard‑setter Hollygrove Cha Cha may not be ideally suited by the drying conditions. Irish mare World Of Fortunes is well treated by the weights but was off the bridle a long way out at Doncaster and may lack the necessary tactical speed.
The best bet on the card could be DIAMOND DEALER 11/4 (14:40 Kelso), who has progressed well since joining the Dan Skelton yard. This will be his third visit here of the season, and he was unlucky to be mugged on the line at Wetherby last time after jumping well out in front. He still had his ears pricked up the run‑in and may well have been idling, so could still be ahead of the handicapper. Tristan Durrell, involved in a real tussle with Freddie Gordon to be leading conditional, knows the horse well, having ridden him on all four starts for the yard, and he can make all.
Over at Newbury, the Skeltons also have a leading chance with HELTENHAM 9/4 (14:25 Newbury), who won this race in both 2023 and 2024 and goes particularly well at the track (form figures: 1‑1‑1‑8‑2‑1). He will be looking to complete the same double as in 2024, having also won the race he scored in last time out. With Twinjets likely to set the pace, he should get the tempo he needs and will hopefully jump better than he has at times this season.
The feature hurdle race is the Grade 2 Mares’ Limited Handicap, where WATAMU 9/1 (15:00 Newbury) looks to have been given a fair mark for her handicap debut. Her Huntingdon victory in December has worked out well, with three horses from the race winning next time – including the Herring Queen favourite Khrisma, whom Watamu worried out of it close home. Khrisma turned the tables next time, but it was no disgrace to finish behind her and Charisma Cat, and one place ahead of Getawhisky, who is a shorter price than the selection here. It looks the right form line, with the better prices available about Watamu being the deciding factor.
After ITV4 have gone off air, HAVAILA / (16:45 Newbury) looks to have been found a good opportunity to get back on the winning trail. A really good run at Windsor was followed by a poor effort here on soft ground, but his keen‑going nature will be well suited by the drying conditions, and his enthusiastic demeanour stands in marked contrast to several of his rivals.
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