Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips: Skelton can record back-to-back victories in Newbury showpiece

Last week couldn’t have gone much better as The Thames Boatman (7/1) and Slate Lane (5/1) got the job done in taking fashion at Lingfield and Haydock respectively.

Matching that kind of success will be pretty tough, especially as there is no all-weather action to rely upon, but there are four horses who have taken my eye this weekend and profit will be guaranteed if just a couple of them get their head in front. 

Let's start with Newbury’s featured Coral Gold Cup (2.50) - or the Hennessy as we all know it. This is a perfect punting race with bookmakers going 7/1 the field and at least four places on offer for those of you who like an each-way tickle. The Paul Nicholls-trained Complete Unknown heads the market at the time of writing, but it’s easy to make a sound case for many others in the field.

My shortlist was slowly reduced to just three horses: Monbeg Genius, Stumptown and Midnight River. The former had to be strongly considered given how well his third-placed finish in last year’s Ultima is working out. Corach Rambler, who won that contest, went on to take the Grand National while runner-up Fastorslow subsequently plundered the Grade 1 Punchestown Gold Cup and John Durkan. However, he didn’t jump well on his reappearance and that was enough to make me look elsewhere.

I was faced with a similar situation when I dug deeper into Stumptown’s profile. He’s yet another progressive chaser with good Cheltenham festival form who just didn’t clear his fences with great aplomb last time out. Therefore my hand was forced with Midnight River, who has been primed for this contest.

This eight-year-old has won four of his 10 chase starts and has developed into a big-field handicap type with successes at Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day fixture and Aintree’s Grand National meeting. The Charlie Hall was an optimistic starting point for him this season, but I thought he shaped well for a long way before Gentlemansgame and Bravemansgame drew clear in the closing stages.

Midnight River’s fitness will have improved tenfold for that run and the ground has come in his favour. It’s also key to note that this horse has tactical speed, which enables him to sit in the first half-dozen without the need of persuasion. Although he is running off a lofty mark of 156, Ahoy Senor’s presence in the field means he only has to carry 11st 1lb and therefore he’s almost impossible to overlook.

I’m going to dot around the racetracks for the remaining three selections just in case the adverse weather causes any cancellations. 

To Doncaster for the 2m½f handicap hurdle (1.31), in which Ballybreeze looks to bounce back after failing to complete over fences on his last two outings. Backing horses with letters rather than numbers next to their name is my biggest no-go, but I’m willing to make an excuse here given he actually jumped the first fence well at Cheltenham before stumbling on landing.

Trainer Sam Drinkwater has decided to cut his losses and let his seven-year-old get his confidence back over hurdles, and this looks a prime spot for him to run well off a lowly mark of just 111. If you’re wondering whether he can do it over timber, look back to his run in February 2022 when he finished a fine second to Hacker Des Places, who is now rated 12lb higher.

I’m convinced he’s well handicapped and rider Toby Wynne takes off another 3lb, so there are no excuses for him this weekend. Collingham and Soaring Glory could be his biggest dangers, but they have to concede a load of weight to the selection and that might be the difference.

Finally, it would be folly of me to ignore Read To Return’s entry at Fairyhouse (3.10) given how vocal I was about the shocking ride he was given when last seen. Long story short, this six-year-old just wasn’t given a chance to win that contest due to inadequacies in the saddle and now trainer Tony Martin has opted for an experienced head in the form of Phillip Enright to try to make amends.

Undoubtedly well treated off a mark of 98 despite the switch from fences to hurdles, Read To Return is an interesting candidate now that he’s dropping down in trip to 2m4f. I have no doubt that he wants to go further, but he has the speed to make his mark at this distance if he’s given a chance this time.

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips

Ballybreeze (1.31 Doncaster) @ 5/2
Midnight River (2.50 Newbury) @ 10/1
Read To Return (3.10 Fairyhouse) @ 11/4