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A break-even week ending Sunday 30th August with a small profit of +£1.72 to a £1 level stake, although we did have three out of five winning naps (11/4, 11/4 (10p R4) and 4/7) plus a non-runner.
P/L for the week ending Sunday, 30 August: +£1.72
P/L for the year to date: +£157.90
P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38
P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
P/L since 1st September 2022: +£658.56
Alan Kelly's Tips - Friday, 4 September
ITV Racing will be covering nine races on Saturday afternoon, five from Haydock Park, two from Ascot and two from Kempton Park, the second featuring the reappearance of Constitution Hill. The main race of the day, however, is Haydock’s Group 1 Betfair Sprint Cup at 3:40pm.
1:25pm Haydock - Hankelow
Only 9th in York’s Strensall Stakes last month, when possibly doing too much up front over the 1m 1f trip on the Knavesmire, I still think the best form on offer for this Group 3 Superior Mile is that of HANKELOW's third place finish in Longchamp’s French 2000 Guineas back in May.
Karl Burke’s son of Night Of Thunder handled the testing conditions well in an effort to make most of the running, only giving best inside the final furlong to Francis-Henri Graffard’s Rayif, who would go on to beat a top class field in last month’s Prix Jacques le Marois at Deauville.
In receipt of the 5lb weight for age allowance, Clifford Lee’s mount gets the vote over Richard Hannon’s consistent Persica.
Recommendation: Hankelow - 6/1 with Betfred
1:40pm Ascot - Thunder Call (Nap)
Despite defeats on his last two starts, the first at Newmarket’s July meeting followed by a length and a half second to Red Spell Dangers in Ascot’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint last month, I still think that the William Haggas-trained THUNDER CALL (Nap) has the potential to go on to better things.
This will be the Pinatubo colt’s second try at today’s trip of 7f, the first coming on his debut when finishing down the field at Newmarket last October. Cieren Fallon’s mount looks to be crying out for this extra furlong, and I will be disappointed if the selection falls short against a field of mainly exposed rivals, best of which may be Michael Dods’ Northern Express.
Recommendation: Thunder Call (Nap) - 6/4 with bet365
This is Alan's Nap of the Day selection - see how it stacks up against Charlie McCann's pick too.
1:55pm Haydock - Rafe’s Da Man
Godolphin’s First law looked very green when making a winning debut in a four-runner maiden at Sandown last month. While the Too Darn Hot colt is sure to improve with that run under his belt, William Buick’s mount looks short enough at a best price 11/10 racing on completely different ground.
With the soft going pretty much an unknown for all of the runners, I would rather side with the greater experience of Richard Hannon’s Goodwood maiden winner RAFE'S DA MAN, who will be having his fifth start to date.
That looked to be a very strong race of its type at Glorious Goodwood with plenty of well-regarded juveniles among the field of 13, including Wathnan Racing’s runner-up Charted Course, previously far from disgraced when beaten less than 5 lengths in Royal Ascot’s Windsor Castle Stakes.
Recommendation: Rafe’s Da Man - 15/2 with William Hill
2:10pm Ascot - Heyzoom
On the face of it, a rise of 5lb for finishing 4th in the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot looks pretty stiff regarding Owen Burrows’ lightly-raced Shadwell gelding HEYZOOM. However, subsequent victories by the first three horses in that Heritage Handicap, Enceladus, Al Azd and Believed, have significantly boosted the form of the race.
Over the same course and distance, the son of Dubawi can continue his progression off a mark of 90 and following a gelding operation, at the main expense of Marco Botti’s Shergar Cup Classic winner Archers Bay.
Recommendation: Heyzoom - 11/8 with BetVictor
2:20pm Kempton - Popmaster (Each-Way)
A wide-open renewal of this William Hill London Mile Series Final, the 14 runners headed by the Jonathan Portman-trained Two Tempting. On his 61st career start, Ed Walker’s POPMASTER (Each-Way) is more exposed than the majority of the field. However, with an excellent record on the course and with leading jockey Billy Loughnane back in the saddle, the eight-year-old is fancied to run a big race at a double-figure price.
The grey has been running well all season, in particular when fourth in competitive handicaps at Epsom and Sandown. Off a 2lb lower mark, Popmaster beat a strong field to win a qualifier here back in February, a repeat of which would put the each-way selection in with every chance.
Recommendation: Popmaster (Each-Way) - 16/1 with Paddy Power (4 places)
2:30pm Haydock - Galilean Quality
Runner-up in the Sky Bet Melrose (Heritage Handicap) at York last month after failing to get the best of runs, Karl Burke’s GALILEAN QUALITY can gain some compensation by taking this £100k three-year-old stamina test under top weight.
Clifford Lee’s mount is fancied to confirm the form on 5lb worse terms with the 9th horse home on the Knavesmire, Andrew Balding’s Mythical Bay, although Daniel Tudhope’s mount could give the selection plenty to think about if keeping a straighter course on this occasion.
Recommendation: Galilean Quality - 9/4 with Paddy Power
2:50pm Kempton - Tornado Alert
All eyes will be on 2023 Champion Hurdle winner Constitution Hill, who continues his Flat career following victories at Southwell and over today’s course and distance earlier in the year. This is a big step-up in class for the nine-year-old however, Billy Loughnane’s mount the lowest rated of the 7 contenders.
Despite the horse’s superstar status with the public, I expect Nicky Henderson’s charge to come up short in this company, Godolphin’s TORNADO ALERT getting the narrow vote over the Owen Burrows-trained Gethin.
A Group 1 winner at Munich last summer, the mount of Oisin Murphy did well following a break of over a year to finish fourth behind Sir Mark Prescott’s Tiffany in the Group 1 Grosser Preis von Berlin last month, just a length behind the winner. The Too Darn Hot colt is sure to improve with that run under his belt.
Recommendation: Tornado Alert - 11/4 with William Hill
3:05pm Haydock - Stressfree (Each-Way)
Godolphin’s top weight Aegean Prince may be the obvious answer to the outcome of this 1m 6f Borough Cup. The lightly-raced Dubawi gelding has an absence of almost a year to overcome however, in which case I would rather side with David O’Meara’s STRESSFREE (Each-Way), the mount of jockey Mark Winn.
The six-year-old is at his best on this type of ground, as when 5th of 22 in last season’s November Handicap at Doncaster off a mark of 103. Better over today’s extra two furlongs, and now 6lb lower, Stressfree can go close if repeating last month’s effort in York’s Ebor when beaten a little over four lengths in 6th place.
Recommendation: Stressfree (Each-Way) - 8/1 with William Hill (4 places)
3:40pm Haydock - Almeraq
Apart from US speedster Bacio, the sprinting division in Europe is wide open at the moment, a case of whose turn is it next going from one Group 1 to the next. The betting for this Betfair Sprint Cup is headed by Royal Ascot's Queen Elizabeth 11 Stakes winner ALMERAQ, who has since finished down the field in the July Cup.
I'm convinced that William Haggas’s charge is a better horse with plenty of give in the ground, conditions the son of Dark Angel is guaranteed to get this afternoon. I was tempted to select Paborus (each-way), but the big odds available about Ed Bethell’s runner earlier in the week have disappeared. With the William Haggas stable in such good form, Almeraq is the one to beat.
Recommendation: Almeraq - 11/4 with Coral
* Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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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.
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