Alan Thomson, the former Racing Editor at the Daily Record, puts up five tips at Haydock Park and Ascot on Saturday. View selections below.
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HARRY ANGEL (4.15) looks a safe bet to repeat last year’s victory romp in the 32Red Sprint Cup at Haydock. With the track again riding deep, Harry Angel can impose himself straight from the off and he was mightily impressive when thumping Tasleet by four lengths last year. As long as his painful Ascot experience in the starting stalls has not left a psychological scar, Clive Cox’s colt is the one to beat.
EMMAUS (2.25) should relish underfoot conditions in the Unibet Mile. Roger Varian’s four-year-old beat Donjuan Triumphant on heavy at Leicester in April and also holds a verdict over Sir Dancealot on a yielding surface last autumn.
MEKONG (1.50) may be the answer to an interesting 1m 6f handicap. Sir Michael Stoute pitched him into the Sky Bet Melrose Stakes at York and punters backed the son of Frankel into favouritism. After leading until the two-furlong pole, Mekong had no answer to Ghostwatch’s finishing kick, eventually fading into a close-up fourth.
The ability to handle soft ground will count for plenty and Natural History is a son of mudlover Nathaniel which should stand him in good stead, despite a hefty 12lb rise for winning by a wide margin at Chepstow.
With underfoot conditions much quicker at Ascot, BESHAAYIR (3.20) may be able to bounce back from a disappointing fifth to Clon Coulis over course and distance. The William Haggas-trained filly was a strong 6-4 shot that day and a repeat of her earlier easy success over Hunni, again at Ascot, would make her competitive in a very hot handicap.
The 1m 4f handicap is also a mouth-watering prospect, with several classy middle-distance three-year-olds in opposition. FIRST ELEVEN (3.55), a strapping son of Frankel, found the company a little too hot to handle at Newmarket when fifth to Wells Farhh Go in the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy. He should have been freshened up by a 58-day break and should go well for the John Gosden-Rab Havlin combo.
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Tally Ho
Alan
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