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A fabulous week ending Sunday 3 May, in particular a couple of outstanding days on Friday and Saturday with winners at 2/1, 4/1, 13/2 (25p R4), 11/10, 11/8, 9/1 10/1, and 11/1.
Our one losing nap of the week came on Sunday when Sacred Ground could only manage to finish second in Newmarket’s opener.
- P/L for the week ending Sunday, 3 May: +£37.96
- P/L for the year 2026 to date: +£105.06
- P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38
- P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
- P/L since 1st September 2022: +£605.72
Alan Kelly's Tips - Friday, 8 May
A maximum field of 17 will go to post for Friday's Ladbrokes Chester Cup, the £170k Heritage Handicap due to get underway at 3:05pm.
The ground, good, good to soft in places, should be Ideal for the extended 2m 2f stamina test on the Roodee.
1:30pm Chester - Respond
Yet to get his head in front from 15 starts on turf, Richard Hughes’ Whip Cracker has not enjoyed the best of luck to date in defeat, most recently when finishing a close 3rd of 26 in last month's Newbury Spring Cup off a 1lb lower mark. Ryan Moore is in the saddle once again on a horse who looks sure to win a decent handicap before too long.
The Cracksman gelding will do well to win from his high draw in stall 12 however, preference being for the Andrew Balding-trained RESPOND who will be coming out of stall 2. Oisin Murphy’s mount has been sent off favourite on his last six starts, the first resulting in a comfortable victory in a Haydock maiden last August, the runner-up Mukhtalif unbeaten in two subsequent outings.
Third in Kempton’s Rosebery Handicap on his most recent start with fellow rival El Burhan back in 5th place, Respond’s jockey on that occasion, Jason Watson, went for some way out on the all-weather track, having nothing left in reserve when headed by easy winner Gamrai 2 out.
Murphy has been aboard the four-year-old on both of his wins to date; providing the champion jockey can take advantage of his favourable draw, the Kingsclere runner looks the one to beat. Jessica Harrington’s top weight, Norwalk Havoc, 9th of 31 when unfavourably drawn in the 2024 Cambridgeshire, is the other one to consider following his 3rd in a Leopardstown Listed race last month.
Recommendation: Respond - 9/4 with bet365
2:35pm Chester - Royal Rhyme (Each-Way)
I’m not convinced this drop back in trip will suit last year’s Derby winner Lambourn, the son of Australia last seen finishing 4th in Doncaster’s St Leger behind stablemate Scandinavia eight months ago. Sporting headgear for the first time, Ryan Moore’s mount looks guaranteed to improve for the run.
George Scott’s Bay City Roller has a Group 1 penalty to carry for winning Munich’s Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern on his most recent start back in November and will do well to follow-up in this Group 2 contest. Irish trainer Joseph O’Brien is represented by last month’s Alleged Stakes winner Starford. However, it is the horse who started favourite for that Group 3 race but could finish no better than 6th who gets the vote for this fascinating Huxley Stakes, the Karl Burke-trained ROYAL RHYME (Each-Way).
Clifford Lee’s mount clearly ran way below his best on his first start for almost a year and is better judged on his three previous efforts, in particular when finishing a close third behind Anmaat and Calandagan in the 2024 Qipco Champion Stakes. At his best with a bit of cut in the ground, today’s good, good to soft conditions, should be fine for the six-year-old, who is fancied to continue the stable’s fine form.
Recommendation: Royal Rhyme (Each-Way) - 7/1 with Ladbrokes (3 places)
3:05pm Chester - Blindedbythelights (Each-Way) (Nap)
Joseph O’Brien is having a right go in an attempt at winning this £170k Ladbrokes Chester Cup, the talented Irish trainer responsible for three leading fancied among the maximum field of 17 runners, A Piece Of Heaven, Galileo Dame and Puturhandstogether. Of the three, preference would have been for the J P McManus-owned Cheltenham Festival winner of last year, although Billy Loughnane’s mount has been drawn in the car park (stall 17).
Newmarket trainer Sir Mark Prescott has been trying to win the Chester Cup for some time and can finally add this Heritage Handicap to his impressive list of major successes that include the 2022 Arc with Alpinista. Prescott likes nothing better than landing a gamble of one of the major staging handicaps however, and in Middleham Park Racing’s BLINDEDBYTHELIGHTS (Each-Way) (Nap) he has an ideal candidate for today’s race.
Runner-up in six of his last seven races, the mount of Luke Morris would certainly not be winning out of turn. I thought the Protectionist gelding was particularly unlucky when just failing to catch William Knight’s Story Horse in a 1m 6f Heritage Handicap at Newmarket’s Guineas meeting last year.
Blindedbythelight can often hang to his right, so with blinkers on for the first time, added to a decent draw in stall 4, the six-year-old is fancied to repel the strong Irish challenge.
Recommendation: Blindedbythelights (Each-Way) (Nap) - 6/1 with bet365 (5 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 in the battle with bookmakers since joining Freebets.com in 2008.
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