Alan Kelly’s Tips
Alan heads to Stratford on Monday for his Nap of the Day
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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
A cracking week ending Sunday, 8 November, with a profit of £24.18 to a £1 level stake.
Having selected the 1-2 in the Melbourne Cup at 6/1 and 25/1, we continued in good form throughout the week with winners at 20/1, 10/3, 11/4, 5/1 and 13/2.
P/L for the week ending Sunday, 8 November: +£24.18
P/L for the year to date: +£202.06
P/L for the year 2025: +£22.38
P/L for the year 2024: +£200.42
P/L since 1st September 2022: +£702.62
Alan Kelly's Tips - Monday, 9 November
Ground on the soft side of good is expected for the two Jumps meetings taking place in Britain on Monday at Carlisle and Stratford.
1:10pm Stratford - Wallquatari (Each-Way)
Champion trainer Dan Skelton runs three in this 13-runner maiden hurdle, the stable’s first string being the Poet’s Word gelding Eastern Fire, who wears a tongue-tie for the first time. A Bumper winner at Fakenham back in January, Harry Skelton’s mount was sent off favourite to make a winning debut over hurdles at Perth last month, only to fall at the final hurdle when holding every chance.
The five-year-old will be expected to take this uncompetitive contest, although a clear round will be the priority for connections. Eastern Fire’s two main rivals look to be Alan King’s hurdling debutante Oykel Bridge and WALLQUATARI (Each-Way) from the Donald McCain stable. Despite the fact that the latter has not been seen since finishing a promising second in a Market Rasen juvenile hurdle at the beginning of last year, I expect Theo Gillard’s mount to be straight enough on his reappearance to run the Skelton runner close and can make the frame at the very least.
Recommendation: Wallquatari (Each-Way)
1:20pm Carlisle - Bo Cruz
The Jonjo & A J O’Neill stable continue in decent form and their five-year-old mare Diamond White opened her account with a hard-earned victory in a modest contest at Fontwell last month. That form was still more than the majority of the 10 contenders for this 2m 4f novices’ handicap have achieved, and a rise of just 3lb probably makes the mount of Jonjo O’Neill Jr the one to beat in an effort to follow up.
Harry Brown is a talented 7lb claiming conditional jockey, and his mount BO CRUZ heads the weights on the seven-year-old’s return to hurdles following five runs over the bigger obstacles, two of which resulted in comfortable victories at Catterick and Wetherby earlier in the year.
While the son of Doyen’s fitness has to be taken on trust (first outing for almost 8 months), the gelding returns to hurdles off a mark 7lb lower than his current chase rating of 112 (14lb if you include the valuable claim of his rider) and makes plenty of appeal in a race which will take little winning.
Recommendation: Bo Cruz
1:40pm Stratford - Major Fortune (Nap)
After travelling well for most of the race, Dan Skelton's MAJOR FORTUNE (Nap) could only manage to finish a well-beaten third at Perth on his reappearance last month. Off a 2lb lower mark, and with that first outing for 6 months under his belt, Harry Skelton's mount is fancied to record a third victory over fences by defeating his 7 rivals in this extended 2m 6f contest.
The eight-year-old’s two wins over fences came over 3m 1f at Wincanton and an extended 3m 1f at Hayock. I don't think today’s shorter trip will inconvenience the Soldier Of Fortune gelding, who is very adaptable distance-wise (won a hurdle race over 2m 1f). Top weight Lord Of Cheshire is likely to need today’s run, the nine-year-old’s first for 19 months, a bigger danger the the selection likely to come in the shape of Neil Mulholland’s Sunshine Diamond, a stable in excellent form at the moment.
Recommendation: Major Fortune (Nap)
This is Alan's Nap of the Day selection - see how it stacks up against Charlie McCann's pick.
* 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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