Alan Kelly’s Tips

Alan heads to Newcastle on Tuesday for his Nap of the Day

Updated: October 26, 2026 at 4:23 pm GMT+0

Get fresh daily selections and a standout Nap of the Day from our in-house racing expert, Alan Kelly.

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A disappointing week ending Sunday, 25 October, which resulted in a loss of -£11.22 despite winning naps at 5/1 and 11/8 along with an opening 4/1 success on Saturday.

P/L for the week ending Sunday, 25 October: -£11.22

P/L for the year to date: +£188.38

P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38

P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42

P/L since 1st September 2022: +£688.94


Alan Kelly's Tips - Tuesday, 27 October

Tuesday's two Jumps cards at Bangor-On-Dee and Newcastle are expected to take place on ground on the soft side of good.


2:31pm Newcastle - Silver Hill (Nap)

Jennie Candlish’s top weight Dunkerque looks in the grip of the handicapper at the moment, the six-year-old beaten on his last two starts off today’s mark of 132. Bottom weight Rocheval, one of two runners for the Russell/Scudamore stable, makes his debut over fences, and if able to repeat the kind of form which saw him finish 6th of 25 in a valuable handicap hurdle at last year’s Punchestown Festival, would take plenty of beating off a mark of 113.

Sam England’s Kent De Thaix and Jamie Snowden’s SILVER HILL (Nap) are also having their first outing over fences, the most interesting being Gavin Sheehan’s mount who looks the type to make up into a decent staying chaser, with the potential to prove much better than his opening mark of 121.

The winner of novice hurdles at Catterick and Hereford last season, the Shirocco gelding ran a cracker on this course when beaten half a length by Sandy Thomson’s 127-rated Sanilam with the other 10 runners 19 and more lengths behind. The Lambourn trainer can make the long journey worthwhile with a successful first run over fences for Silver Hill.

Recommendation: Silver Hill (Nap) - 4/5 with bet365

This is Alan's Nap of the Day selection - see how it stacks up against Charlie McCann's pick.


4:16pm Bangor - The Big Breac & Cahier’s Den

There is no stopping champion trainer Dan Skelton at the moment who has 8 runners on Bangor’s card, best of which looks to be his promising hurdling recruit Rattlin Home in the second race. Skelton is responsible for top weight Twistthenightaway in this 3m handicap chase on the daughter of Walk In The Park’s first start over the bigger obstacles.

An opening chase mark of 112 looks high enough about Harry Skelton’s mount, who was last seen pulling-up in a mares’ handicap hurdle at Ayr’s Scottish Grand National meeting. Any market confidence in the six-year-old should be noted.

Richard Hobson’s French recruit Liege Ardent is another worth a look in the betting, although the stable is very quiet at the moment. My two against the field are a couple of horses who will be having their first start since having wind surgery, the Parkinson/Smith-trained THE BIG BREAC and CAHIER’S DEN from the Donald McCain stable.

The former was an easy winner on his debut over fences at Wetherby around this time last year before possibly finding the 3m 6f trip at Newcastle two weeks later a little too far when weakening to finish a close third. Heavily supported for Market Rasen’s Lincolnshire National on Boxing Day, the lightly-raced nine-year-old lost his position 4 out before staying-on to finish a well-beaten fourth.

A disappointing favourite once again when managing to finish only 5th over just short of 3m at Newcastle on his most recent start at the beginning of the year, Peter Kavanagh’s mount may be best when caught fresh and more than capable of winning a race of this nature if that wind op proves to have been a success.

This will be just the 5th start over fences for Cahier’s Dan, who has shown promise on all 4 occasions, in particular when finishing second at Newcastle back in March under 12st. Theo Gillard’s mount ran better than his finishing position would suggest on his most recent start over today’s course and distance when making a bad mistake at the second fence and almost losing his rider. The McCain stable are always to be respected with their runners at Bangor and this Irish point-to-point winner can go well off a mark of 100.

Recommendations: The Big Breac - 11/2 with bet365 & Cahier’s Den - 16/1 with bet365


* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.


Check out more from the Freebets horse racing hub, including tips, stats, market movers and today’s racecards!

Alan Kelly’s Tips
Charlie McCann’s Tips
Lucky 15 Tips for Today & Tomorrow
Horse Racing Market Movers - Today’s Best Backed Horses
Horse Racing Stats & Trends - Today’s Key Pointers
Longest Travelled Horses Today
UK & Ireland Racecards for Today
Placepot Tips Today - Free Tote Placepot Tips for Every UK & Irish Meeting
Nap of the Day - Top Horse Racing Naps & Daily Tips

About Alan Kelly

A passionate follower of horse racing for over 50 years, Alan has enjoyed a 40-year career in the betting industry, 28 of which he spent running his betting shop as an owner/manager.

A successful punter with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Free Bets in 2008.

You can follow Alan Kelly on X for more racing insight.


Latest Horse Racing News

Charlie McCann's Horse Racing Tips Monday, 26 October - Wexford & Kempton
Charlie McCann's Horse Racing Tips Sunday, 25 October - Aintree & Market Rasen
Charlie McCann's Horse Racing Tips Saturday, 24 October - Cheltenham

Alan Kelly
Alan Kelly

A successful punter, with a keen eye for value, Alan has had many betting highlights down the years, including a Scoop 6 win and has shown a consistent profit in the battle with bookmakers since joining Free Bets.

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