Alan Kelly’s Tips
Alan heads to Exeter on Thursday for his best bet of the day
Get fresh daily selections and a standout Nap of the Day from our in-house racing expert, Alan Kelly.
Looking to boost your bets? Discover the latest betting offers from the UK's best betting sites.
For live TV action, head to our ITV Racing Tips hub for expert picks on the biggest races, and explore Ryan Moore booked rides for detailed insights on one of flat racing's most successful jockeys.
Latest Profit & Loss Figures
A break-even week with a profit of just +£0.10. Another five second over the six days, making it a frustrating 12 in the last fortnight, including our 28/1 tip Nine Nine Nine, backed into 11/2 at Leicester on Wednesday.
- P/L for the week ending Sunday, 14 December: +£0.10
- P/L for the year 2025 to date: +£56.01
- P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
- P/L since 1st September 2022: +£542.00
Alan Kelly's Tips - Thursday, 18 December
With the ground already described as heavy and with the prospect of plenty more rain, the meeting at Ffos Las in Wales must be considered to be in some jeopardy (inspection 4:00pm Wednesday).
While rain is also forecast for Thursday’s other jumps fixture at Exeter, racing will, hopefully, go ahead as planned under soft conditions (inspection 7:30am Thursday).
2:00pm Exeter - Rosscahill (Nap)
An Irish point-to-point winner of two years ago, the Nigel & Willie Twiston-Davies-trained Rosscahill’s future was always going to lie over the bigger obstacles, in which case two victories over hurdles at Ffos Las was something of a bonus for connections of the Malinas gelding.
Backed as if defeat was out of the question on his chasing debut in a Ffos Las handicap back in October off a mark of 120, ROSSCAHILL (Nap) weakened out of contention from a prominent position following a bad mistake at the 8th fence, eventually being pulled up before jumping the fourth-last.
For a horse with such potential, jockey Sam Twiston-Davies was clearly looking after the gelding with a long-term view in mind. The six-year-old is sure to have been well schooled since that run at the Welsh racecourse and in this smaller field and on ground that will suit, this promising chaser is fancied to get his career over fences back on track.
Last seen finishing 5th in Sandown’s bet365 Gold Cup in 2023, Chris Gordon’s Coolvalla will almost certainly improve for today’s run, a bigger danger to Rosscahill possible coming in the shape of David Pipe’s Vision De Maine, who stayed on strongly to finish third at Ascot on his reappearance last month.
Recommendation: Rosscahill (Nap) - 4/1 with bet365
3:00pm Exeter - Storming Nelson
The impressive winner of a novice’ hurdle over today’s course and distance on New Years Day last year, the Sue Gardner-trained STORMING NELSON failed to build on that victory, the son of Mount Nelson given an opening mark of 117.
Following seven disappointing efforts, the six-year-old, now dropping down to a mark of 91, had a wind op two months ago in the hope of rekindling the gelding’s undoubted ability. There was a lot more to like about Storming Nelson’s first outing for 256 days when 4th of 12 behind handicap good thing Reinado at Chepstow last month.
Reappearing at Fontwell 10 days ago, Lucy Gardner’s mount looked like winning when taking the lead 2 out, only for her mount to finish a close third after hanging badly to his right on the run-in. Now running off a mark of 90 and on a course that clearly suits, Storming Nelson is fancied to record a second victory at the Devon racecourse. Matt Sheppard’s Olivia Kate and top weight Thankyouandplease are the others to consider, both 7lb higher than when recording comfortable wins at Leicester earlier in the month.
Recommendation: Storming Nelson - 9/2 with bet365
7:30pm Chelmsford - Charlie Mason (Each-Way)
The feature race on Chelmsford's eight-race is the £40k ‘Timeform Sprint Series Final’ Handicap, a cracking 6f contest with a field of 14 runners, the vote going to the Tony Carroll-trained CHARLIE MASON (Each-Way) and jockey Jack Doughty.
This will be the 19th start of 2025 for the Mayson gelding, who has failed to finish in the first 4 on only 3 occasions this year, such has been the level of consistency shown by the four-year-old, both on turf and on the all-weather.
Narrowly beaten in qualifier for this race two months ago, two places ahead of fellow rival Mesaafi, I expect Charlie Mason to confirm that form with Ross Burdon’s charge on 5lb worse terms, a bigger danger to the selection possibly coming in the shape of stablemate Justcallmepete, who is on a hat-trick following wins at Kempton and on this course last month.
Recommendation: Charlie Mason (Each-Way) - 7/1 with bet365 (4 places)
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
Latest Horse Racing Tips, Stats & Trends
Check out more from the Freebets horse racing hub, including tips, stats, market movers and today’s racecards!
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 Freebets.com in 2008.
You can follow Alan Kelly on Twitter for more racing insight.
Latest Betting Offers
Check the latest free bets and betting offers from the best betting sites in the UK at Freebets.com.
