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Despite 3 out of 6 winning naps (8/15, 5/2 and 9/2) we ended last week with a very small profit of +£0.28.
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Alan Kelly's Tips - Friday, 23 January
The meetings at Doncaster and Warwick provide Friday’s jumps action, the ground at both courses currently riding on the soft side of good.
Over at Meydan there is a cracking eight-race card featuring 4 Group 3’s, 2 Group 2’s and 2 Group 1’s.
2:15pm Doncaster - Glynn Brae
The 10-year-old Fingals Cave is on a hat-trick following wins at Aintree and Hexham during last summer. Callum Bewley’s mount is likely to need this, his first outing in more than 7 months however, although the gelding is worth a look for any market confidence.
Nicky Richards’ bottom weight Smokeringinthedark stayed-on to beat all bar the Paul Nicholls-trained Fasol at Musselburgh on New Years Day and should be winning soon, but this £25k Class 2 handicap may concern Guard Duty from the in-form Emma Lavelle stable and the Twiston-Davies’ contender GLYNN BRAE.
The former was an eyecatcher when finishing third in a hugely competitive handicap at Windsor on New Years Day and this ultra-consistent nine-year-old looks sure to run his usual game race. However, slight preference is for the three year younger Glynn Brae, who is 4 from 8 over hurdles and open to plenty more improvement.
After winning a handicap at Sandown on his reappearance in November, the mount of Sam Twiston-Davies was backed as if defeat was out of the question in a valuable contest on that course the following month. After making a mistake 3 out at the Esher track, Glynn Brae could never match strides with the principles over that minimum trip of two miles.
The selection will be much more at home over today’s extra three and half furlongs, and is fancied to get his season back on track at the main expense of Ben Jones' mount.
Recommendation: Glynn Brae - 10/3 with bet365
4:18pm Warwick - Slipway (Each-Way)
Warwick’s card ends with an excellent three miles handicap chase, the field of 10 headed by last season’s Aintree Foxhunters runner-up Jet Plane. The 137-rated 10-year-old ran well to finish 7th in the Grand Sefton over the big fences in November, after which Dan Skelton's charge ran out an easy winner at Leicester before finishing a creditable second in a Veterans’ chase at Sandown earlier this month.
While the mount of Miss Heidi Palin is probably the one to beat, I think SLIPWAY (Each-Way) from the in-form stable of Ben Pauling could do well in this division in the months ahead, the 11-year-old better suited to this trip whereas Jet Plane’s best efforts of late have come over shorter.
Four from 17 over fences, including the Highland National at Perth back in 2022, slipaway showed enough pace to win a 2m 5f novices’ hurdle at Kempton Park nearly a year ago, ending 2025 with a decent effort in a Class 2 three miles handicap chase at Uttoxeter in May.
The mount of 7lb claiming amateur Mr Samuel Scott has good record fresh and can prove the each-way value bet of the race against likely favourite Jet Plane, with Time Leader and Good Boy Bobby best of the rest.
Recommendation: Slipway (Each-Way) - 5/1 with bet365 (3 places)
5:00pm Meydan - Opera Ballo (Nap)
Fourth and fifth respectively in a Group 2 on this course earlier in the month, Vafortino and Holloway Boy will need to improve significantly if they are to make an impression in this Group 1 contest. Midak is best watched on his first start for trainer Ian Williams, which leaves Hamad Al Jehani’s Silawi and the Godolphin pair of OPERA BALLO (Nap) and Nations Pride as the three to concentrate on.
Silawi had Nations Pride a length and three quarters behind when winning the Grade 1 Canadian International at Woodbine in October, after which the Wathnan Racing contender failed to make an impression when beating only one home in the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Del Mar.
While I expect Nations Pride to reverse that form with Silawi, the pair will struggle to cope with Opera Ballo, who, with William Buick in the saddle, is expected to prove best of the two Charlie Appleby runners. The four-year-old’s only defeat in his last four starts came in the Joel Stakes at Newmarket back in September when failing to match strides with Karl Burke’s unbeaten Zeus Olympios.
Having his first run at Meydan last month, Opera Ballo only had to be pushed out to beat stablemate Nations Pride by a comfortable three lengths. Even on 3lb worse terms, the result is expected to be the same for a horse who could turn out to be a real money spinner for connections during the year ahead.
Recommendation: Opera Ballo (Nap)
* 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 Freebets.com in 2008.
You can follow Alan Kelly on Twitter for more racing insight.
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