Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips: Tom Collins looks to land a UK and US double

The Cheltenham Festival is officially over and normal services will be resumed on Saturday as Uttoxeter headlines the action with its Midlands Grand National meeting.

Punters tend to tackle this day in their own way - some will look to play up Cheltenham profits, while others try to recoup some of their losses. However, I tend to take a back seat with the flat season and Aintree just around the corner. Fortunately, I don’t fancy much across the cards anyway!

Only one horse stands out across all six meetings and that is Anthony Carson’s Deed Pole, who will make just his sixth career start in the 1m1½f handicap (5.30) that begins Wolverhampton’s evening card.

This physically imposing gelding showed little on debut in November, but he hinted at signs of ability on both his second and third starts at Chelmsford and Southwell respectively. Given his size, it’s pretty obvious that handicaps have always been the target for him and he has been unlucky not to get his head in front the last twice.

He made a big move rounding the bend on his penultimate start only to be outgunned late on by a more experienced rival, and he seemed unfavoured by the way his last race developed (it became a sprint in the closing stages). The step up in trip will help his cause and there’s surely more to come off a mark of 60.

The last five Saturday US tips in this column have won, so let’s extend that to six at Santa Anita this weekend. Their showpiece race is the $100,000 China Doll Stakes (10.31) for fillies and mares, and it features four three-year-olds who began their career over this side of the pond.

Paris Secret won on debut for Andy Oliver in Ireland and makes her first Stateside start here - perhaps she will need the experience. The Wild Grazer, who started out for Andy Slattery, has had more time to acclimatise and is a leading form player. While Havana Angel has moved to Leonard Powell from Amy Murphy’s stable.

However, it is the former John Kinsella-trained Comanche Country that I like here. This daughter of Highland Reel finished second on debut at Naas before running down the field in a Group 3 at Naas that was won by Aidan O’Brien’s classy Meditate. She’s gone from strength-to-strength over in the US since with three consecutive victories followed by a creditable seventh in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf. 

Comanche Country didn’t have much luck in the latter affair, though it’s fair to say she wouldn’t have got close to the protagonists given their dominance at the wire. Trainer Phil D’Amato, who does so well with this type of horse, has prepared her nicely for this return to action and she should take a lot of beating from the outside gate.

Saturday’s Horse Racing Tips

Deed Pole (5.30 Wolverhampton) @ 7/2
Comanche Country (10.31 Santa Anita) @ 4/5 or bigger (8/5 M/L)