Alan Kelly’s Tips
Alan heads to Chepstow on Wednesday for his Nap of the Day
Get daily horse racing tips from our in-house racing expert, Alan Kelly, who has spent over 40 years in the betting industry.
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Alan also highlights his strongest selection each day, so visit our Nap of the Day page to see which horse he fancies most.
Latest Profit & Loss Figures
Despite five out of six winning naps (9/4, 11/4, 3/1, 6/4, 6/4) we still managed to have a losing week, mainly down to a set of poor results on Saturday.
P/L for the week ending Sunday, 1 November: -£10.50
P/L for the year to date: +£177.88
P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38
P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
P/L since 1st September 2022: +£678.44
Alan Kelly's Tips - Wednesday, 4 November
Chepstow stages the only Jumps card in Britain on Wednesday afternoon, the ground at the Welsh Racecourse Good, good to firm in places on the chase course and Good to Soft, soft in places on the hurdles track.
2:30pm Chepstow - Desertmore News (Nap)
I thought both Inside Man and Tour Ovalie ran ok on their chasing debuts at Newton Abbot and Worcester respectively and can be expected to improve for the run, a remark which also apples to the Jonjo & A J O’Neill-trained Rula Bula, who stayed on to finish second without ever threatening to trouble winner Bleu d’Enfer at Uttoxeter last month on his first outing over the bigger obstacles.
Kerry Lee’s Black Hawk Eagle will be having his 7th start over fences, the eight-year-old’s one success coming in a three-horse affair over today’s course and distance back in March. The stable is very quiet at the moment, and unless the market speaks in his favour, Conor O’Farrell’s mount is best watched on his first start for almost 6 months.
The most promising of the 5 contenders for this 2m novices’ limited handicap chase is the Tom Ellis-trained DESERTMORE NEWS (Nap), the mount of Jack Andrews. The six-year-old won 2 of his 4 starts over hurdles and ran well for a long way before weakening after making a bad mistake 2 out in Sandown’s bet365 Novices’ Championship Final Handicap Hurdle on the final day of last season.
Well supported on his chasing debut at Ffos Las last month, Desertmore News proved no match for Dan Skelton’s classy Sinnatra, but still made a pleasing start to his chasing career, taking the field along until headed by the winner approaching the final fence. The selection is sure to improve with that run under his belt and faces nothing of that calibre in this Class 3 contest.
Recommendation: Desertmore News (Nap) - 5/2 with bet365
This is Alan's Nap of the Day selection - see how it stacks up against Charlie McCann's pick.
3.23pm Nottingham - Venetian Lion
An unlucky 4th off today’s mark of 81 on heavy ground at Haydock Park last month, the William Haggas-trained VENETIAN LION can gain some compensation for that troubled passage with a victory in this extended one mile handicap.
The son of St Mark’s Basilica has won 3 of his 6 starts on turf, which could well have been 4 but for failing to get anything like a clear run when staying on strongly to finish a close fourth behind Kevin Philippart De Foy’s Maximising at the Merseyside racecourse just over two weeks ago.
Repeatedly denied a clear run on the inside, Cieren Fallon’s mount can be marked up considerably for that effort. Granted better luck on this occasion, the three-year-old gelding looks sure to go close. Jack Channon’s Hot Cash will enjoy today’s forecast soft conditions and may prove the main danger to the selection along with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s hat-trick seeking Mertoun.
Recommendation: Venetian Lion - 10/3 with bet365
5:00pm Kempton - Cosi Bello (Each-Way)
A field of 10 for this 7f Class 2 handicap, most of which can be given a chance on their best form, including Ralph Beckjett’s Lincoln 6th Valvano, a winner on Southwell’s all-weather surface during the summer and last seen finishing 12th from a poor draw in Ascot’s valuable Balmoral Handicap on Champions Day.
George Scott’s Force And Valour ran some fine races at Meydan earlier in the year, and despite having an absence of 9 months to overcome, will be fancied with champion jockey Billy Loughnane booked to ride. Wathnan Racing’s Colombier and James Fanshawe’s Kempton specialist Heathcliff are others to consider, but I like the chances of Charlie Fellows’ COSI BELLO (Each-Way), the mount of Paddy Bradley.
The four-year-old son of Bated Breath didn’t see a racecourse until winning races on Chelmsford and Kempton’s all-weather surfaces last year, after which the gelding ran to a decent standard in competitive handicaps, including when finishing 4th in the valuable Betfred Handicap at Ascot’s King George meeting last summer.
Cosi Bello returns to an artificial surface off the same mark as when winning on his reappearance at Haydock back in April and is fancied to go close over what is probably his ideal trip.
Recommendation: Cosi Bello (Each-Way) - 11/2 with bet365 (3 places)
* 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 against the bookmakers.
Since joining Free Bets in 2008, he has helped readers find the best value each day.
You can also follow Alan Kelly on X for more racing insight.
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