ITV Racing Tips for Saturday 23rd April from Sandown, Haydock and Leicester

1:50 Sandown

The opener from Sandown on ITV is a trappy 2m handicap hurdle.

My selection is KNAPPERS HILL (4/1) for the Paul Nicholls team. A winner of the Grade 2 bumper last season at Aintree he’s had a bit of an up and down novice hurdler season. He ran a decent race in the Betfair Hurdle finishing a never nearer 6th and this race certainly is easier than that. I’m happy to ignore his next start as the ground was heavy and that definitely won’t have suited. He had a confidence booster at Newton Abbot last time out winning easily and this stiff 2m trip on fast ground is perfect for him. Paul Nicholls likes to target this race.

 

2:05 Haydock

The 2:05 from Haydock is a tricky handicap on the level over 7f.

The selection here is BOARDMAN (4/1). The Tim Easterby/David Allan duo have a good record in this type of race and I think Boardman can add to that. He had a fantastic season last year winning four races on the bounce before running well enough at Royal Ascot. He ran a decent race on seasonal return and off this official rating of 90, I think he can add another victory to the CV.

 

2:25 Sandown

Next up at Sandown is the Grade 2 Oakley Chase over the 2m4f. Only 4 go to post for this contest and all have questions to answer.

The one I’ve landed on is SAINT CALVADOS (2/1). Like I said, they’ve all got questions to answer here so it’s hard to be be bullish. Mister Fisher isn’t the most fluent jumper so this Sandown jumping test might not be ideal. Nuts Well and Erne River have to prove they’re good enough at this level for me so I’m happy to chance Saint Calvados. Again 2m4f on decent ground should suit so hopefully that sparks him up. I think the small field will suit.

 

2:45 Leicester 

It’s listed action at Leicester next but we only have 3 runners so it’s certainly not much of a betting race.

My selection would be ARATUS (3/1) NB. The outsider of the three, he may well get his own way in front here and prove tough to pass. He won all three starts last season and he looked to be a real improver. I think he’s the least exposed here and may well continue that upward curve here with another victory given the way the race is likely to pan out.

 

3:00 Sandown

The Celebration Chase is next up over 2m and unfortunately, it’s not the deepest renewal as only 5 runners line up for this one.

I like NUBE NEGRA (6/4) NAP for the Dan Skelton team. Arguably the classiest horse in the race, he bypassed Cheltenham and Aintree to be kept fresh for this. It’s worked out perfectly as hell appreciate the good ground and it’s a very weak Grade 1. Granateen has questions to answer after his run last time out in Ireland but has to be respected given his record at the track. However, Skelton will stalk him on Nube Negra and hopefully pick him up after the last.

 

3.32 Sandown

The 3:32 is the great Bet365 Gold Cup over the 3m4f distance. It’s a deep renewal of the race with plenty of familiar names in the line-up.

The one for me is FIDUX (25/1) EW. Alan King has landed this race for the last two seasons and will bid for the hat-trick here. He obviously knows what it takes to win the race and I think this horse has been laid out for this. He was a good 4th last time out in the Scottish National where I think that trip was just too far. This drop back to 3m4f should prove to be ideal. I think this race has been the number one target where the likes of his market rivals Win My Wings and Kitty’s Light have had bigger targets throughout the season and may be too high in the handicap now. I think FIDUX presents excellent each-way value in this with the extra places available.

 

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