Horse Racing Tips: Tom Collins has four tips on a spectacular Saturday

It’s time to put your feet up, load the betting app and enjoy what is set to be a thrilling Saturday as the Dublin Racing Festival begins at Leopardstown.

Make no mistake: this is Willie Mullins’ playground. The Closutton trainer regularly dominates this meeting and is represented by a plethora of exciting and highly talented hurdlers and chasers this time around. There are eight Grade 1s over the two days, and I certainly wouldn’t put it past Mullins to win all of them.

With Lossiemouth (1.55 Saturday), Galopin Des Champs (3.05 Saturday), Blue Lord (2.10 Sunday), State Man (3.10 Sunday) and Facile Vega (3.40 Sunday) in his arsenal, you could be forgiven for believing that Mullins is looking to show off his dominance. They’re all going to be extremely short prices - perhaps State Man aside - so I’d rather back another of his aces in the form of Appreciate It.

The nine-year-old son of Jeremy will line-up in the Goffs Irish Arkle Novice Chase (2.30), where he will take on stablemates Dysart Dynamo and El Fabiolo in an attempt to plunder the €88,500 first prize. A three-time Grade 1-winning hurdler, Appreciate It has made a faultless start to his chasing career and, although plenty believe he is better suited to longer trips, much of his form has come over the minimum distance.

It’s fair to say that he has beaten trees in his two outings this year, but he was suitably impressive on both occasions and jockey Paul Townend reported that he won’t show his A-game unless he has something to chase as he can idle out in front. Things may pan out perfectly here as Flame Bearer, as well as the aforementioned Dysart Dynamo and El Fabiolo, are keen-going types who want to get on with the job at hand.

Townend should have the privilege of sitting in behind on Appreciate It, whose only defeat since his bumper days came after a 364-day layoff in last year’s Champion Hurdle, and carve out the perfect trip. I expected him to be near-enough odds-on, so I’m rushing to take his current price.

Talking about getting a nice price, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to grab some of the 10/1 available on A Wave Of The Sea for the 2m1f handicap (4.10 Leopardstown) later on the card. Hopefully those of you who watched the most recent episode of the SBK Betting Podcast grabbed some of that value too!

Joseph O’Brien and JP McManus like to aim their horses at big prizes, and this has almost certainly been A Wave Of The Sea’s target all year given he’s won the last two renewals. 

Those victories came off marks of 133 and 142, so he’s got his work cut out off 144 this time around, but he’s been campaigned over three miles (doesn’t stay that trip) this season with the idea of cutting back and 7lb conditional Aidan Kelly is an interesting booking. Provided he jumps fluently, he should go close to the three-peat.

Despite getting stuck into the jumps action, I couldn’t bypass the Listed Kachy Stakes (2.26) at Lingfield given the amount of high-quality performers on show. Annaf, who will head the market, has to be feared, as does Exalted Angel seeing as trainer Karl Burke has won four of the last seven editions, but I’m back on the bandwagon of an old friend.

Diligent Harry was considered one of the smartest up-and-coming types when he won the 3YO Conditions event on All-Weather Championships Finals Day back in 2021, and, although his form figures don’t exactly inspire confidence, he has faced some really stiff tasks since.

Six of his seven subsequent races have come in Group company, including the Platinum Jubilee at Royal Ascot last year, while only one of those contests have been run on his favoured all-weather surface. Now Clive Cox returns to the synthetics and drops down to Listed level in a bid to see a return to form for his gelding.

Well capable of running to a mark in the 110s, which would see him win or go very close here, Diligent Harry has an excellent record on his seasonal reappearance (form figures: 132) and has drawn nicely in stall five. 

I know that a good portion of you reading this article like to get stuck into the US action, so here’s an early - and exclusive - selection for Saturday night.

Gulfstream Park hosts an exceptional 12-race card that is headlined by the 35th running of the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes (10.43), an early-season Kentucky Derby qualification event that has been won by numerous subsequent Graded stakes winners, including the fantastic Tiz The Law who plundered this $250,000 prize in 2020.

This year’s renewal doesn’t seem to have as much depth as you might have hoped for such a prestigious prize, and it could be dominated by Cyclone Mischief (2/1 on the Morning Line) and Rocket Can (4/1 M/L). 

The former enters this race on the back of an impressive allowance optional claiming victory at this track last month and has subsequently posted two tasty workouts on the dirt. Cyclone Mischief possesses a good turn of foot, is effective on the track, stays this trip and has good speed figures behind him, but I don’t think the form of his latest victory stacks up as his chief rivals appeared to underperform. 

As a result, I prefer Rocket Can, who has drawn the outside post on his first start for just over two months. Trained by Bill Mott (24% strike-rate, 9/37 at this meet), Rocket Can suffered tough trips on his first two career outings last summer at Saratoga, before taking a huge step forward to win a maiden and finish second in an allowance optional claimer at Churchill Downs.

Like plenty of Mott’s young stock, this three-year-old has improved a good deal for each of his starts and his progression hasn’t stopped just yet. His last-time-out speed figure tops Cyclone Mischief’s most recent number and, not only will he stay on powerfully at the finish, but he should get a decent pace to close in to. The 4/1 Morning Line odds look pretty optimistic - I’d expect something closer to 2/1. Any bigger and he’s a bet.

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips

Diligent Harry (2.26 Lingfield) @ 8.8
Appreciate It (2.30 Leopardstown) @ 2.88
A Wave Of The Sea (4.10 Leopardstown) @ 6.4
Rocket Can (10.43 Gulfstream) - back at 3.25 (9/4) or bigger