Charlie McCann’s Horse Racing Tips
Charlie heads to Newmarket for his best bet on Thursday
Enjoy daily tips and his Nap of the Day from our resident expert, Charlie McCann.
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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
A small winning week with a profit of +£1.72 for the week ending Sunday, July 6th.
A frustrating week with at least two Anthropologist (Thursday Nap at 7/2) and Sunday’s sole selection Nickelforce (10/3) desperately unlucky. The latter race also saw one of racing’s rarities; a terrible ride from Sean Bowen on Jerrash who went off as if his tail were on fire on ground that was soft after the deluge ahead of the meeting.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, July 6th.
- Cumulative profit since we began on 1/8/22: +£1213.01
- Week Ending Sunday, July 6th: +£1.72
- July 2025 to date: +£2.62
- Year 2025 to date: +£135.53
- Year 2024 ended: +£364.90
- Year 2023 ended: +£469.27
- Period 1/8/22 to 31/12/22 ended: +£243.31
(All figures to a £1 level stake)
Charlie McCann’s Horse Racing Tips for Thursday, July 10th
1:50pm Newmarket - Scandinavia (Nap)
The oddsmakers made Queen’s Vase second Further market leader for the Bahrain Trophy when the declarations were made on Tuesday morning, but it was as not just me who felt the 5/2 for SCANDANAVIA (Nap) - who was three-quarters of a length behind the runner up at the Royal meeting - looked attractive and he is a best price of 7/4 at the time of writing.
Forced three wide and covering more ground than his rivals, the son of Justify looked a thorough stayer and, having looked cooked at the top of the home straight, he finished best of all. He looked the type to make up into a Cup horse next term and this 1m 5f trip will, arguably, be on the sharp side.
Ryan Moore takes over from Wayne Lordan in the saddle and I will be disappointed if he does not take this well-bred son of Justify forward. He only has a 10f Navan maiden win to his name in five starts, but this is hardly a vintage renewal, and I expect Moore to make it a decent test.
This has not been the luckiest race on the calendar for me over the years, and I well remember Moore somehow getting Tower Of London beat in the corresponding race two years ago.
On this card last year four of the seven winners made all and I hope, and expect, to see Scandinavia try and make the running from stall two. If not, I hope he gets as lucky as he did on Delacroix in the Coral Eclipse at the weekend.
Recommendation: Scandinavia (Nap) - 7/4 with bet365
3:00pm Newmarket - Tawasol (Each-Way) & Realign (Each-Way)
A high draw has been a positive in the bet365 sponsored 6f three-year-old handicap in recent years and my two against the field TAWASOL (Each-Way) (12) and REALIGN (Each-Way) (16) both have double-figure draws and I have split stakes between the pair.
Two subsequent winners have come out of Tawasol’s fluent 4l win at Doncaster back in May when the grey made all in a fast time. His near eight-week absence is a slight concern although there must be every chance that connections decided to bypass the Royal meeting for this valuable handicap. He has been raised 11lbs since that success in south Yorkshire, but he has form figures of 2-2-1-1 under Jack Mitchell and looks sure to run a big race.
Realign was backed into 7/2 for the 5f Palace Of Holyrood Stakes at Royal Ascot on the back of an impressive 6f Salisbury success. He was never happy on his first start at the minimum trip – had run over 7f as a juvenile – and he looks sure to appreciate the return to six furlongs. He has been eased 1lb since Ascot.
Recommendations: Tawasol (Each-Way) - 8/1 with bet365 (5 places) & Realign (Each-Way) - 8/1 with bet365 (5 places)
3:35pm Newmarket - Wimbledon Hawkyeye
I presumed Ghostwriter would fallout the back of the screen when he looked beaten two out in the Group 2 Hardwicke Stakes but, to his enormous credit, he rallied and was beaten just over 3L by the high-class Rebel’s Romance and Al Riffa. This is a big day for Amo racing owner Kia Joorabchian who admits he paid £2m for the four-year-old off his own back, given his advisers (MoneyForOldRope.com) were not convinced with the colt’s profile.
I loved the horse as a two-year-old and he ran some fine races in defeat last term, but he never struck me as the heartiest of battlers and I wonder if twelve furlongs really is his optimum distance?
Only one three-year-old has won the Group 2 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes since 1998 (Soapy Danger in 2006 for Mark Johnston) but I feel WIMBLEDON HAWKEYE can buck that trend for James Owen who has, surprisingly, booked Sean D Bowen for the ride instead of higher profile jockeys.
Bowen has never ridden the three-year-old previously, and connections have shelved the experiment of cheekpieces which they applied at Royal Ascot when the colt was fourth beaten just over 3L by the impressive Amiloc.
The selection has a similar profile to Ghostwriter – a top-class juvenile campaign but finding things much tougher as a three-year-old – but was given a poor ride at the Royal meeting by Silvestre De Sousa who is banished to Doncaster this afternoon. His pedigree does not exactly scream 12f, but he stayed on well in the King George V Stakes and I hope he can give James Owen and the classic generation a big winner.
Recommendation: Wimbledon Hawkeye - 4/1 with bet365
*Betting odds correct at the time of publication. All odds are subject to changes.
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Charlie McCann’s Horses to Follow
Last updated, Monday 30 June
Blue Bolt (Three-year-old filly trained by Andrew Balding)
Blue Bolt was beaten more than 5L on her racecourse debut over 7f at Southwell on debut but she has looked a different proposition on turf, with that experience under her belt, winning both starts over a mile at Windsor and Newbury.
Her latest success in a valuable Novice under Colin Keane suggested she was ready for a step up in grade and she holds an entry in the listed Coral Distaff on Eclipse Day at Sandown.
Her Group 1 entry Matron Stakes at Leopardstown in September suggests connections are taking it slowly slowly with this daughter of Blue Point - no entry in next week’s Falmouth Stakes - but I am convinced she is at least up to listed level.
Keane was jockey up on the filly as soon as the entries were announced and both turf wins have been gained on good or faster ground. There is a possibility of a shower on Wednesday morning, but the forecast is set fair for the rest of the week.
Gunship (Three-year-old trained by James Ferguson)
Gunship was not guaranteed on breeding to appreciate the step up to a mile-and-a-half at Royal Ascot and so it proved with the dual tapeta winner fading from two out in the King George V Stakes.
It is possible that the Sea The Stars colt will always be a better horse on the all-weather, but he travelled as well as anything save winner Merchant at the Royal meeting. We will know more about his long-term prospects after his next start which is likely to be at Newmarket on the Friday of their July Cup meeting.
That bet365 sponsored contest is one of the hottest three-year-old 10f handicaps of the season and he needs ten to come out to be guaranteed a run, but he remains a colt with plenty more to come, and his next start should tell us whether his best days lie solely on an artificial surface.
The form of his previous three quarters of a length defeat of War Hawk at Newmarket has been franked by the runner up who has since won at Chester and Epsom. He would meet Gunship on 6lbs worse terms if they both faced the starter on the July course.
Midnight Tango (Two-year-old trained by Ed Walker)
Midnight Tango really ought to have won the listed Empress Stakes at Newmarket (July) at the end of June when Kieran Shoemark tried to come from last to first on the wrong side of the track. She passed six of her seven rivals in the last couple of furlongs, and I wonder if the jockey will consider it one that got away.
She has only got a modest Hamilton success to her name, but she is held in some regard by Ed Walker, and she is up to at least listed class. It would be no surprise if she landed a Group race between now and the end of the season with something like the Lowther at York’s Ebor meeting under consideration.
Charles Darwin (Two-year-old trained by Aidan O’Brien)
The “lads” at Ballydoyle nominated Albert Einstein as their Coventry horse over 6f at Royal Ascot after making it two out of two in the Marble Stakes at the Curragh. That left Charles Darwin as their Norfolk representative after his fluent Naas win at the minimum trip.
When Albert Einstein was a late defector ahead of the Coventry, connections gave Gstaad the green light to run on the opening day and left Charles Darwin in the Norfolk rather than “upgrade” him to the Coventry which is widely considered the premier juvenile race of the meeting.
Gstaad duly bolted up by 3l in the Coventry while Charles Darwin landed Thursday’s Norfolk by more than 2l hitting the line hard and giving every impression he would relish another furlong. Aidan O’Brien, it would appear, already has the three best juvenile colts in Europe and it will be fascinating to see how connections keep them apart.
If there is a batting order at present, you feel the yard consider 1) Albert Einstein 2) Charles Darwin and 3) Gstaad. Charles Darwin has the physique of a four-year-old let alone a two-year-old and a crack at the Group 1 Nunthorpe over 5f at York in August was muted given the weight-for-age allowance juveniles receive against their elders.
I would prefer the son of No Nay Never to step back up to six furlongs next time, but you get the impression that Albert Einstein will dictate and be campaigned as the yard’s number one until results say otherwise.
As a half-brother to the yard’s dual Group1 winning juvenile Blackbeard, Charles Darwin is not guaranteed to train on next term, but I am convinced he will win at the top table between now and the end of the season.
Aeronautic (Four-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien)
The lightly- raced Aeronautic finished fifth in the 1m6f Copper Horse Stakes on the opening day of Royal Ascot for Joseph O’Brien who endured such a frustrating week.
The stable had four winners in Ireland on Saturday, and most of their Ascot team ran terrific races in defeat with six finishing in the first four of their respective races.
Aeronautic was no match for French Master at Ascot but ran a cracking race on the quickest ground he has encountered to date. He was beaten less than 4l in the Copper Horse over that mile-and-three-quarter trip and I wonder if connections will consider dropping him back in distance at some time given how well he travelled on that occasion.
After just six career starts the son of Gleneagles has a big race in him between now and the end of the season. The Ebor and Melbourne Cup were races connections may have had in mind for the gelding had he won at Ascot, but I am still convinced there is a big pot to be had with the gelding this term and he won’t go up the weights for finishing fifth.
Classic Encounter (Three-year-old trained by George Boughey)
Classic Encounter was weak in the market, then backed near the off at Newcastle on his first start for George Boughey and belated seasonal reappearance.
He was squeezed out at the start of that hot Novice contest before making good late headway into a never nearer fifth over a mile.
That should have blown the cobwebs away, and I expect him to be more forcefully ridden next time. He will get further than a mile and looks the type to win a maiden/novice on turf in the short turn while he may be eased a couple of pounds from his mark of 82.
He is very much one to keep onside in the months ahead.
Charming Whisper (Three-year-old trained by Charlie McBride)
I appreciate you can go skint backing horses who have been unlucky, but I feel Charming Whisper should have won his last four races for Newmarket handler Charlie McBride.
A winner of two-mile handicaps from marks of 72 and 74 in June, the gelding has met trouble in-running from his last couple of starts over the Bunbury Mile and at Brighton - not convinced he was in love with the track - and I feel he is more than capable of defying his current rating of 80.
A stiff mile on good or faster ground are his optimum conditions, and he is one to keep on the right side of in the short term.
Ride The Thunder (Two-year-old trained by Roger Varian)
He cost 400,000 gns as a yearling and went into my tracker when recovering £1700 of his purchase price when finishing second in a Doncaster Novice to God Of War - had previous experience - on debut over seven furlongs.
I appreciate that the Varian yard lacks consistency, but I will be disappointed if this inmate does not go one better next time. The step up to a mile is likely to suit going forward, although 7f looks his trip in the short term.
Jagwar (Five-year-old trained by Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero)
Jagwar ran with the choke out at Uttoxeter in their competitive 2m 4f handicap hurdle last weekend and a blunder two out put paid to his chance. He was beaten 10L at the line, but he travelled like a well-handicapped horse for much of the race and the hope is that he will eventually cut out the jumping issues that have blunted his progression to this point. He was dropped 1lb to a mark of 118 by the handicapper after Uttoxeter.
Better ground should suit this spring and I wonder if he might be worth a try back at the minimum trip. The conditional jockeys’ event at Aintree might enter calculations at next month’s National meeting.
Merry Monty (Seven-year-old trained by Chris Down)
Merry Monty looked the type to improve for the switch to fences, and he shaped with considerable promise on his chase debut at Exeter over 2m 3f on New Year’s Day, giving every indication that he would improve again when stepped up in trip.
The gelding showed his first form when runner up - also at Exeter - on his penultimate start over timber when he jumped his hurdles as if he had been previously schooled over fences. He is likely to be nudged up the weights from his mark of eighty, but he would have won at Exeter granted another twenty yards, and I will be disappointed if he isn’t bordering on three figures by the end of the season.
Frederick Daly (7lb Claimer)
It is rare to be as impressed with a jockey, especially one who arguably won by too far, having his first ride under rules. Still, I was blown away by the quiet style of amateur Daly, who rode Golden Shot to win the amateur riders’ event at Ffos Las on Monday for Sir Mark Prescott. As Ian Bishop might have said: “Frederick Daly - remember the name”.
The 16-year-old was as polished in his postrace interview with Sky Sports Racing as he was in the saddle, and he suggested that he would spend little time as an amateur and would soon be turning professional.
His 7lb claim is likely to prove very popular when that happens. However, you get the impression that his father, who I remember as a former assistant trainer in Newmarket, and Sir Mark Prescott will manage his progression diligently as he works through his claim.
It might be daft to draw such conclusions after just the one ride, and he never had to get serious on the 29L winner, but there was just something about his style that suggested he was no ordinary amateur jockey. I, for one, will be monitoring his progress and will take note to see if other trainers book the jockey for similar contests in the short term.
Royal Rhyme (Three-year-old trained by Karl Burke)
Goodwood was largely a disappointment, with the rain putting a dampener on proceedings on and off the track. The week was summed up when the last three races were abandoned on the Saturday as the rain returned in spades.
On the track, the highlights were the continued brilliance of Paddington in the Sussex Stakes on Wednesday, but he must play second fiddle to Royal Rhyme, who showed himself to be a Group horse when running away with what is invariably a competitive three-year-old handicap.
The handicapper has seen fit to raise him 13lbs to a mark of 108 for his six-and-a-half length romp, while his winning time was three seconds quicker than that clocked by Al Husn in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes later in the card. His record on soft ground reads played three won three, with those successes coming by an aggregate of 12 lengths.
He remains one to keep on side granted soft ground this autumn. His stablemate Triple Time, likely to reappear at Deauville on Sunday, did us a huge favour when landing the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot at 33/1. Royal Rhyme is currently the same price for the Champion Stakes with Ladbrokes and Coral at Newmarket in October. Granted soft ground, he certainly won’t be that price if he faces the starter.
Diamond Ri (Four-year-old trained by Joe Tizzard)
Diamond Ri tanked through a Warwick Bumper on his racecourse debut to score by a long-looking thirteen lengths. The winning time was five-and-a-half seconds than the first division half an hour later.
The Tizzard yard does not have too many Bumper winners, but the yard can dare to dream over the summer that they have something to go to war with as a novice hurdler next term. His win came on soft ground, and his action and breeding suggest plenty of cut will suit going forward. Not one for the short term, but one for next season.
About Charlie McCann
Seven years as talkSPORT racing correspondent/tipster who recently spent over a decade as Director Of PR/Communications for a couple of leading igaming operators.
Failed cricketer - I regularly bore people, myself included, with the story about how I caught Imran Khan when 12th Man for Lancashire v Sussex as a youth - former National League Basketball player - once scored 72 points in a game - and lifelong and long-suffering Everton supporter.
Many of my old friends - and I mean old - would tell you I was a better footballer than a cricketer - but cricket was my first love. Horse racing has long been my passion - ironic as I’ll never pass the vet again as my sports injuries have come back to bite - with my specialism handicap chases over jumps and 1m+ handicaps on the level.
I have met many of the great and good in the game and consider myself to have been very fortunate. Please always bet within your means and never chase your losses.
Be Lucky.
You can follow Charlie McCann on Twitter for more racing insight.
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