It’s a quiet Saturday for racing, but there’s action from Haydock Park and Musselburgh on ITV Racing to keep an eye on.
I was looking forward to seeing what the ground would be like at Fairyhouse today, but the first day of the Irish Grand National meeting has been called off. Hopefully, they can get the next two days on.
Anyway, let’s dive in.
Free Haydock Park & Musselburgh Saturday Tips
2:05 Haydock – Got Grey @ 10/3 with William Hill – 1pt Win
Dan Skelton may have worked his magic with Got Grey to get him down to a nice mark of 110 for this Two Mile Series Final Handicap Hurdle.
The six-year-old grey reached a peak rating of 116 at the beginning of this season, but three runs since the start of February has sorted his handicap rating out nicely.
Two efforts came on soft ground and one came at the start of March over 2m5f when priced at 33/1. All three of these runs saw him run without his usual tongue tie.
The tongue tie is back on today, and two miles on good ground should really suit him.
As for his form, he ran in a 2m4f Aintree handicap hurdle in October over 2m4f and he arguably didn’t truly see out the trip. Kamsinas, the winner, is a very solid mid-130 horse for Fergal O’Brien and the second, Long Draw, has won two Class 2 handicaps since.
Today looks like his gold cup; hopefully, this is the case.
3:00 Musselburgh – Jer Batt @ 4/1 with Betfred – 1pt Win
The Scottish Sprint Cup looks like a nice race to have a play in, and Jer Batt is the one I’m siding with.
The David & Nicola Barron-trained five-year-old shared a place on my shortlist alongside Jm Jungle, but the latter has saved his winning for the second-half of the season over the last two years, and he is on a career-high mark of 93.
So, Jer Batt is the one, even if he is also on a career-high mark.
Even with this knowledge, he won a Haydock handicap off 87 last year when running to an RPR of 100 before finishing second in two further handicaps off 92 and 91.
The former came when behind Shagraan and ahead of American Affair, with whom he gets a 2lb swing, and the latter came when second to Cover Up in October, with whom he gets a 4lb swing.
Jer Batt won on his sole start over this course and distance in April 2023, and he also won on his seasonal reappearance in 2023, so he is a horse that can go well fresh.
3:15 Haydock – Le Milos @ 6/1 with William Hill (3 places) – 1pt EW
There’s a fair chance that Le Milos could be too good in the Middle Distance Veterans’ Handicap Chase, and his handicap mark of 141 doesn’t look too bad.
He won this qualifier at Warwick in February when well-backed into favourtism, and he’s just 2lbs higher today, which is kind.
The 10-year-old won on soft ground that day, but he won his 2022 Coral Gold Cup on good ground, so the conditions shouldn’t be an issue for him, and one can assume this £100,000 final has been the plan for a while.
I don’t think this race is a vintage renewal, and there’s just 6lbs separating the top four in the handicap, so I’m hoping Le Milos’ class can see him win this big pot for Dan Skelton.
