The weekend tip from non league football epxert and Burton Albion assistant manger Mark Sale this weekend is for Stevenage and Cambridge both to win at combined odds of just over 3/1 with Skybet.
He also fancies Torquay to get a win away Oxford as his longshot and that can be backed at 23/10 with Ladbrokes
The step up in trip to 2m 5f can see Cooldine enhance his RSA Chase claims by taking the Dr PJ Moriarty Novices’ Chase at Leopardstown on Sunday.
Willie Mullins’ classy seven-year-old was a crack hurdler last season, winning five on the bounce at trips up to 2m 6f, (he was even considered good enough for an attempt on the Punchestown Stayers’ Hurdle, finishing a creditable fourth to Blazing Bailey) and he made mincemeat of 15 rivals on his chasing debut at Thurles back in November.
Mullins didn’t hesitate in upping him to Grade 1 company for the Durkan New Homes Novices’ Chase at Leopardstown run over 2m for his next start, but a race run at barely a canter in the early stages meant he was too keen to get on with proceedings, and was unable to deliver a telling blow as Follow The Plan and Tatenen fough out the finish.
Third that day was no disgrace though, and now up in trip to his optimum distance in a contest where there should be some pace on in the early stages, you have to fancy Cooldine to step up markedly on that display. His jumping looks more than competent, and the likely testing ground will hold no fears whatsoever.
Of the likely opposition Trafford Lad somehow contrived to get himself beaten by 25/1 rag Casey Jones at Leopardstown over 3m at the Christmas meeting, and will certainly be meeting his biggest test yet in the shape of Cooldine.
He looked seriously good in the Drinmore when beating Forpadydeplasterer at Fairyhouse the time before, but of the pair Cooldine has to get the vote.
Forpadydeplasterer may also re-oppose, but to my mind although he’s a sound jumper who should improve on what he’s shown so far over the larger obstacles, 2m 5f may be his boundary in terms of stamina.
He ran a fine race in defeat to another Mullins horse Golden Silver at Leopardstown last time, but he looks every inch an Arkle type for me and may have to settle for place money here.
Currently trading at 5/2 on Betfair this one can go the way of Cooldine.
The feature of Sunday’s Leopardstown card is the Hennessy Gold Cup, a race in which it’s very hard to escape the conclusion that Neptune Collonges should run out a comfortable winner.
Save for making a hash of the second last in the Lexus Chase run over course and distance here in December I think Neptune Collonges would have beaten Exotic Dancer, and so long as that tumble hasn’t left any psychological scars, last seasons’s Punchestown Gold Cup winner can resume the winning thread.
For anyone concerned by the likely heavy ground don’t forget Neptune Collonges has won six times on ground officially termed as heavy earlier in his career.
On official ratings he’s 10lb clear of his nearest rival, with the Listener on a perch of 164.
The Listener also eneded up on the deck in the Lexus, making it no further than the second fence, and at the age of 10 I wonder if the fire burns quite as brightly as it did a couple of seasons back. �
Notre Pere did this column a huge favour by winning the Welsh National at 16/1, and he’ll absolutely love the ground, but he has more than a stone to find on official figures, and shouldn’t have the class to trouble the favourite.
The 10/11 with Victor Chandler might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’ll take a good one to beat him.
Good luck!
Bee Stinger can build on a promising return to form when 4th over course and distance last time by taking Lingfield’s Colemans Hatch Handicap over 1m 2f at 4.40pm.
Granted they go off at a decent clip he can score off a mark of just 68, that’s 12lbs less than when he last won at Wolverhampton at the end of March.
The application of blinkers seems to have eked some improvment from this seven-year-old son of Almaty, and said by his trainer Ian Wood to be working as well as he can remember, he can score at 7/2 with Betfred, Sportingbet and Stan James.
We’ve lined up a tasy treble to try and find a weekend winner for Betting Directory readers:
Kicking off in League One fourth placed Peterborough can maintain their promotion push with victory at home to jekyll & hyde Carlisle.
Posh have picked up 31 from a possible 42 points at London Road so far this campaign, and that stat looks set to improve with a visit from the travel sick Cumbrians, who have lost nine of their games on the road and could be overwhelmed by their free-scoring opponents (only Hartlepool have scored more at home in their section).
Manager Darren Ferguson hands a debut to on-loan Manchester United youngster James Chester at centre back, and he steps in alongside Gabriel Zakuani to deputise for the injured stopper Craig Morgan.
Next up put your faith in Brentford to see of Chester. A whopping 18 places separate the two sides in the League Two table, and the Bees can make class tell against their struggling rivals.
Brentford run a tight ship at home, having conceded a mere nine goals, and Chester’s stuttering attack could struggle to find a way through. The North West side are on a miserable run having taken only two points from a possible 18.
Finally make sure you get on League Two promotion chasers Rochdale to blow away Morecambe at Spotland.
Dale are on a hot streak at present, having won their last three games 2-0, 4-2, 3-0, and they should have too many guns for the inconsistent Shrimpers.
If you shop around you’ll find the treble pays just shy of 100/30 with Blue Square
Good luck!
Mike de Kock’s Imbongi looks to be the best bet on a cracking card at Nad Al Sheba on Thursday afternoon – a three-time Grade 2 winner at home in South Africa last year – Imbongi has delighted connections with his work since arriving and can score at the first time of asking in Dubai in the Marju Trophy at 6.15pm.
The slight drop in trip to the extended six furlongs should be to his advantage, and with bags of speed to overcome a wide draw it can prove worthwhile to snap up a bit of 9/2 with Stan James.
Imbongi should ultimately prove a good deal better than this and could well be one to follow.
You’d do worse than add the name of Excape to your antepost portfolio for the Cheltenham Festival with only six weeks to go – the ex-David Elsworth inmate is said to be scorching the turf on the Seven Barrows gallops of trainer Nicky Henderson, and with the three-time Flat winner at distances up to a mile and half soon to make his hurdling debut, he could be a force to be reckoned with come Festival time, with a tilt at the Triumph Hurdle in the offing.
The Lambourn work watchers say there’s little to choose between him and stablemate Zaynar (current favourite for the Triumph at 4/1 best price) – so nip in for a bit of 20/1 each way before it’s all been hoovered up.
Tom
Betting Directory recommend backing Excape at 20/1 with Boylesports who are offering £200 in free bets to all new customers, an ideal opportunity for anyone looking to get the value for Cheltenham before the start of the Festival on March 10th.
A seven race card from the natural amphitheatre which is Cheltenham is just what the doctor ordered for those of you looking for a weekend punt, and Star de Mohaison can continue his rehabilitation with a win in the Letheby & Christopher Cotswold Chase (2.35pm Saturday).
With his task made considerably easier by the defections of the Queen’s Barbers Shop and Jonjo O’Neill’s Lexus Chase winner Exotic Dancer (both of whom shop elsewhere for a suitable target) Star de Mohaison is taken to get back to winning ways in the hands of crack big-race Pilot Barry Geraghty.
Three years ago the then five-year-old Star de Mohaison embarked on a five race winning spree including victories at Fontwell, his beloved Cheltenham (twice), Aintree (at the April meeting) and Sandown.
Something about Cheltenham seems to bring about the best in Paul Nicholls’ eight-year-old, and his success in the 2006 Royal & SunAlliance Chase was an exhibition in jumping.
Soft ground won’t stop his march back from the injury that then kept him out for an entire two years, and his latest run on yielding ground when trying to give 18lbs to the inspired Mon Mome on the Friday of the Boylesports meeting was a cracker.
Indeed he traded at a far shorter in-running price on the exchanges as the two horses kicked off the bend, and although he narrowly failed to get the best of that scrap, connections were undertandably pleased to have him back in full working order.
Of the opposition Tidal Bay will benefit from a return to a right handed track, but experimenting up in trip could find him out, and I’d have him down as a potential Ryanair Chase type when dropped back in distance.
Halcon Genelardais will be popular too, and looks likely to be favourite since he ran a fine race in a good Gold Cup, and is 4lb clear according to Timeform ratings.
Joe Lively will have his fans too after a clear cut Cheltenham handicap suceess in November (with a light weight he beat Halcon Genelardais 14 lengths), but both could be faced with playing second fiddle to Star de Mohaison.
Time is on his side, and Sir Robert Ogden’s gelding can take this en-route to a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup in which he’d have to be considered a lively outsider at 25/1 with Boylesports, Coral and Sportingbet.
Elsewhere on the card, barring accidents, the Finesse Juvenile Novices’ Hurdle really ought to go the way of Alan King’s Walkon at 3.10pm.
His December Newbury second to current Triumph Hurdle favourite Zaynar looks especially good form when you consider he went down four lengths that day – conceding 7lb for a penalty he picked up for an earlier Huntingdon success.
Zaynar came out and won again at Ascot last weekend to boost the form further.
Next factor in Walkon’s classy success in a Grade 1 run on soft ground at Chepstow at Christmas time, when off a moderate pace his jumping was nigh on impeccable, and he had tomorrow’s rivals Reve De Sivola and Simarian in third and fourth that day.
Furthermore the horse he beat at Chepstow Pepite de Soleil came out and won at Wincanton at the weekend – get stuck in.
Finally have a second look at Moon Over Miami for the Betchronicle Handicap Chase now that he takes the step up in trip to 2m 5f for the first time. (2.05pm).
Charlie Mann’s eight-year-old is a bit of a monkey, and seems to need to be on a going day to put it all together, but he’s got a healthy dose of ability and I’ll be supporting him at what looks likely to be a reasonable each way price. He loves soft ground, and as his name features among the entries for both the Queen Mother Champion Chase and the Ryanair, this should give an indication of his likely Festival target.
Expensive to follow in recent times he was well fancied for the Castleford Chase at Wetherby last time, but histrionics down at the start saw him give away ground, and his performance im managing to get up and take second was actually quite impressive.
The declaration Mister McGoldrick keep the weights down and means Moon Over Miami takes his chance with just 10st 10lb to shoulder, and he’s taken to make the frame at the very least at around 10/1.
Good Luck
Tom
Racing Tips – Saturday 24th January – Cheltenham
Moon Over Miami (2:10)
Star de Mohaison (2:35)
Walkon (3:10)
No, don’t adjust your set, it’s some red-hot snooker advice on the Betting Directory tipping site, and the word from within the Wembley Arena is that Mark Selby (4/7 general) should be backed to come through his afternoon test against Mark Allen and seal a place in the semi-finals. Allen has played well to get this far, but the writing should be on the wall now he clashes with the top seed.
This evening’s match sees Ding Junhui go head-to-head with John Higgins, with ‘The Star From The East’ the percentage call to edge out odds-on Higgins at evens with Boylesports and Skybet after he saw off Shaun Murphy 6-4 in a tough opener.
The best bet tomorrow looks to be Stephen Maguire at 4/6 with Extrabet and Skybet – he is well fancied to see off Neil Robertson.
The treble comes out best at bigger than 4/1 with Skybet.
The one game we’re leaving well alone is ‘The Rocket’ Ronnie O’Sullivan’s clash with the more than useful Ali Carter. Not only are the doubts about O’Sullivan’s fragile temperament refusing to recede, but he’s also playing with a new cue, and could struggle to find a winning rhythm.
He isn’t necessarily a lay, since he could probably win blindfolded if he chooses to turn on the style, but there are enough question marks to make this one a no bet or even a small play on Carter. Good luck.
If you have cash laying dormant in your betting account due to the recent inclement weather and are itching to have a bet on some proper racing, then you could do worse than have a bet on Mad Max (1:55 Newbury) and Sure Josie Sure (3:45 Necastle) today.
Mad Max is smart Novice Hurdler from the Nicky Henderson yard and picked up where he left off last season (winner of two Bumpers) on his seasonal debut when winning at Ascot in November and can continue his unbeaten run at the Berkshire track today.
Sure Josie Sure is best price 9/4 with Paddy Power at the time of writing and the David Pipe trained runner is expected to be well backed for the Bumper at Newcastle.
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Tom Lee is a presenter on Channel 4 Racing, he can usually be found reporting on the latest betting news on Morning Line and from the Betting Ring during live racing. Tom has teamed up with Betting Directory to share his wealth of knowledge and provide inside information and news from the world of racing. You can follow Tom on Twitter to keep up to date with his latest tips - follow him at:
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