Charlie McCann’s Tips
Charlie heads to Nottingham on Wednesday for his best bet
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Latest Profit & Loss Figures
Five winning days produced a healthy profit of +£11.50 for the week ending Sunday, 5 April.
March 2026 ended with a significant profit of +£50.17.
We threw a couple of points away on Saturday with a poor each-way recommendation and bumped into a well-backed Christian Williams gamble at Bangor-on-Dee midweek when we had a double-figure priced second. That said, another good week.
Latest Profit & Loss for the week ending Sunday, 5 April, 2026
- Cumulative profit since August 1, 2022: +£1,557.92
- Week ending Sunday, 5 April: +£10.37
- April 2026 to date: +£11.40
- March 2026 ended: +£50.17
- Year 2026 to date: +£167.71
- Year 2025 ended: +£312.73
- Year 2024 ended: +£364.90
- Year 2023 ended: +£469.27
- Period 1/8/22-31/12/22 ended: +£243.31
(All figures to a £1 level stake)
Charlie McCann’s Tips - Wednesday, 8 April
The ground for the opening day of the Randox Health Aintree Grand National will take place on good, heavily watered ground, with the dry weather likely to continue until Saturday, when there might get up to 4mm of rain. A challenging time for the racecourse executive. Good job, Willie Mullins is not chasing the British trainers' title.
1:17pm Nottingham - Infraad (Nap)
With Oisin Murphy at Kempton this evening, Jason Watson takes over in the plate on Hateen for Andrew Balding, who has his string in good form with seven winners in the last fortnight at 16%.
Hateen cost 120,000 gns as a yearling and finished fifth over course and distance on his second juvenile start. He needs this for a handicap mark and may need further once he gets a mark.
The American-bred Mr Bollinger cost $85,000 as a yearling but is entitled to need his belated racecourse debut, although the market will provide valuable clues as to the ability of Michael Bell's colt, who is out of a winner on dirt.
The filly You Got To My Soul has finished third in both all-weather starts, and she is bred to be smart, given she is a half-sister to seven winners, including two at listed level. She may not have quite got home over an additional furlong at Southwell last time, and this 10f trip should be ideal. She looks like the chief threat.
INFRAAD (Nap) is a half-brother to the Group 1 winner Nezwaah, who landed the 2017 Pretty Polly Stakes for Roger Varian, and he showed plenty of promise on debut when second over a mile at Doncaster on soft ground back in October.
The winner – Karl Burke's Golden Story, who is entered in the Derby and Dante Stakes at York next month – was described by his trainer in a recent Racing Post stable tour as:
"A really exciting horse with a lot of ability."
Infraad was no match for Golden Story, but was doing all his best work last on, and he, too, holds a Derby entry. He has a moderate draw in stall eight of nine, but it will be disappointing if he cannot go one better. This good ground should hold no terrors, and the step up in distance will suit, although he does not look one of the stable stars.
Recommendation: Infraad (Nap) - 13/8 with bet365
3:32pm Nottingham - Dryburgh
The 10f three-year-old handicap is a competitive and fascinating heat with a host of unexposed sorts representing top yards.
James Owen must be kicking himself – I know I was for recommending him - for running One Big Bang in the 3m5f+ Irish National as he would not have come off the bridle had he run in the William Hill-sponsored 3m1f Freebooter Chase at Aintree on Saturday. As it was, he was surprisingly taken six wide by Sean Bowen before his stamina gave way two out, as it had in the 3m6f NH Chase at Cheltenham last month. He ran another terrific race, and the hope is that he will be campaigned between 3m-3m2f - next term.
Owen saddles Causing Problems, who was favourite when beaten 7l at Wolverhampton on handicap debut last month. That does not suggest he is a winner-in-waiting, but he pulled Luke Morris's arms out for a mile, and, in the circumstances, it was a good run.
If he is more amenable to restraint in the first two furlongs under Cieren Fallon, I will save on the son of New Bay, who may be less keen with that run and experience under his belt. The hood he wore for the first time at Dunstall Park is reapplied, as is a first-time tongue-tie.
Extraterrestrial is visored for the first time, having run well when third off this mark – bunch finish – at Wolverhampton last time. He is likely to make it a decent test, and I hope he helps set the race up for DRYBURGH, who defied odds of 33/1 when running a terrific race at Doncaster when third on his first start over ten furlongs.
Trainer Oli Rix seems a young trainer going places – he certainly has the support of the racing media – and Dryburgh travelled very well on Town Moor before being carried left as he was making his challenge.
I will save on Causing Problems if I see him drop his head in the opening salvos, but the vote goes to Dryburgh.
Recommendation: Dryburgh - 7/1 with bet365
3:58pm Catterick - Tupero
TUPERO was made market leader for his sole start for Christopher Head but was beaten 10l and was sold for just €18,000 despite being by Frankel out of a French nine-furlong Group 3 winner.
He ran down the field in two 12f maidens before the application of a tongue-tie and cheekpieces for his handicap debut at Newcastle over 2m, when he failed to stay and was beaten just over two furlongs out.
Dropped back in distance to 12f, he landed some nice bets when scoring back at Gosforth Park last time, and there seems to be no reason he should not be at least as effective back on turf for the first time since that Saint-Cloud debut back in May.
The selection is 4lbs high this afternoon, and I would have preferred a more galloping track, but he looks the type who could continue to improve for David O'Meara.
Kitsune Power finished second first time out last season from a 10lbs higher mark, and it will be interesting to see what the market says of his chances.
The chief threat, however, could come from the course specialist Stellarmasterpiece – four-time course and distance winner – who comes here fit from a spell over timber. He is 2lbs higher than his last winning mark, but this looks a modest contest, and he looks sure to run his race.
Recommendation: Tupero - 11/8 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 March
Anniversary (Four-year-old trained by Ralph Beckett)
Blindedbythelights has form figures since winning at Newbury in June 2023 of 2-2-4-2-2-2-2, and his handicap mark has risen from sixty-eight to a mark in the early nineties, given that he finished second at Kempton from a mark of eighty-eight in the Queen’s Prize at the end of March.
His profile hardly strikes you as being one to have onside going forward, but he is lightly raced for one of his age, and I have always thought there was more to come from the flashy gelding.
He was very well supported at Kempton, however, whereas Anniversary was weak in the market with blinkers reapplied by Ralph Beckett, and the jury is still out as to whether he truly stays two miles.
The stable’s inmates ran well in defeat on the opening weekend of the turf season, and this four-year-old has not won since beating the subsequent Goodwood Cup/St Leger winner Scandinavia at Newmarket on his racecourse debut as a juvenile.
There is a 1m6f handicap at Newmarket on the Sunday of the Guineas weekend at the beginning of May and that would strike me as a suitable target for the gelded son of Sea The Moon who may have races such as the Copper Horse Stakes at Royal Ascot as a mid-summer target although he would have to win to get into the race as the bottom weight was rated ninety-five last year.
At the time of writing, Anniversary is rated ninety-one, but you would imagine he will be eased at least 1lb for his Kempton run. He will need to win to sneak into the bottom of the handicap if the Royal meeting is a realistic target.
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.
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.
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.
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