Best bets for the horse racing this weekend

It is another busy weekend of horse racing with racing at Kempton Park and Newcastle over the jumps and All-Weather action at Lingfield Park and Chelmsford City. Despite a number of Graded races at Kempton Park I am leaving the Jumps alone, as I often do this close to the Cheltenham Festival and I can’t say I fancy anything with that much conviction there anyway other than the promising juvenile hurdler Tritonic and he’ll be too short. I am getting involved on the All-Weather and the meeting at Lingfield Park.  

Best bets for the horse racing at Lingfield Park

I blogged earlier this week my fancy for the Group Three Winter Derby and I remain happy enough with the bet. I took 7-4 about Father Of Jazz on Wednesday and I am convinced this lightly raced four-year-old has plenty more to offer yet and will take this decent prize. The colt has only run four times, three of them in the last three months, all victories on the All-Weather with bundles in hand each time. The son of Kingman trained by Roger Varian could be anything as they say and if you watch his win over track and trip here earlier this month again you will surely agree with me. Felix and Forest Of Dean are obviously decent horses and set the standard but neither are likely to improve again and we know their level which is arguably just below what is required usually to win this; Dubai Warrior rated 111 when winning last year and now 115.  Johnny Drama flew up the ratings last back end with a run of four victories but was found out in the Listed Quebec Stakes in December and probably isn’t quite good enough either.  

Earlier on the card at 2.05 it is the Listed Hever Sprint Stakes over the 5f. This is a blink and you’ll miss it moment with plenty of likely early pace lining-up. With that in mind the race should be run to suit G.1 Nunthorpe Stakes third Moss Gill who loves to stalk the leaders for before taking off late. The five-year-old has never run on Polytrack before but he came out for his 2020 seasonal debut after a winter break to win an all-weather conditions race at Wolverhampton last March so should be fine. Stall four gives P J McDonald the perfect opportunity to follow the early pace of likely front-runners Ornate (2) and Lord Riddiford (1) before picking them off in the final furlong. I have taken the 6-5.  

Cardano won for me last week and the five-year-old goes again this weekend in the 3.10 1m4f Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap. Up another 4lb in the ratings to 96 for that win he has top-weight here but as I said last weekend connections appear to have found his perfect trip and surface here at Lingfield. With Ray Dawson taking off 3lb he has a fighting chance of notching up the hat-trick and he showed a good attitude to win last weekend going on again as the challengers made their moves. He should get an uncontested lead again which will help and I have the 9-4 with Hills, the only ones chalked-up as I write, about him.  

Be lucky