Horse Racing Betting Tips Today

Will Smith Tips

Fiercely Proud

3.35 Ascot

* EW 4 places 1/5

12/1

Our Champ

3.35 Ascot

* EW 4 places 1/5

20/1

Lucky 15

View Tips

11/4

Jango Baie

Brown Advisory Novices' Chase

Ante-Post

View Tips

20/1

It’s fair to say that today’s main betting heat, the traditionally valuable and competitive Ladbrokes Handicap Hurdle at 3.35 at Ascot, is fiendishly open and cases can be made for all of the 12 runners. Though I think the market has just sided with the obvious profiles a little too much at the current prices.

Greatwood Hurdle 2^nd and 3^rd Be Aware and Dysart Enos are amongst the favourites and understandably so, but does the 1m7½f trip around Ascot suit both as much as the 2m1f around Cheltenham? That would be a genuine question I would be asking if I had backed either. Maybe the softer ground will help, but I’m still not sure.

I’m still toying with whether Kabral Du Mathan was as impressive as he looked when winning his handicap hurdle debut at Kempton Park last month, as Harry Cobden was showing just a couple of signs of urgency in the third quarter of that race, that makes me feel he might find this test sharp enough too, and that it will be the most ‘rough and tumble’ contest of his career so far.

Favour And Fortune is having his first start of the season and would probably prefer a sounder surface ideally, Steel Ally is genuine but doesn’t look like the quality of horse that should be top weight in a race like this, and thus may have done his winning for the meantime.

Secret Squirrel will run his race but always seems to be a few points shorter in the betting than he should be, while Go Dante goes without the usual cheekpieces, and so there may be a few appealing betting options among some of the bigger prices.

First up is Greatwood Hurdle 6^th Fiercely Proud, who has near enough 10 lengths to make up on Be Aware and Dysart Enos from that race but can do so as he was the only horse who looked like getting into the contest that raced around the unfavoured inside of the track that day.

In doing so, he stabilised his season after falling at the second last at Ascot behind Our Champ the time before. At 12/1 with Bet365 or Unibet for 4 places, Fiercely Proud has always had a high level of ability, is closely matched with the Grade 1 runner-up Lump Sum from last season’s form and can outrun his odds on the back of that excellent Greatwood Hurdle run.

Having mentioned the Ascot run when Fiercely Proud fell, it was noticeable that he was still bang there despite being extremely keen but would have been hard pushed to beat Our Champ, who is a horse who continues to run his race, defying handicappers and odds compliers at every step.

Our Champ is rock-solid, will be very much suited to the unique sub-2m test that Ascot provides, and for all that his best form appears to be on a sound surface, I think that may be a red herring as he was bang there until very late on in this season’s Gerry Fielden on ‘good to soft’ and last season’s Betfair Hurdle on ‘heavy’. Both are at Newbury over 2m½f and the combination of that and the long straight just finds his stamina out.

Back at his ideal trip 1½f shorter than Newbury and most suitable track Ascot today, Our Champ is a definite player at 20/1 each-way with Bet365 for 4 places.

David Young Tips

Famous Bridge

2.05 Haydock

Win

11/4

Strong Leader

2.25 Ascot

Win

7/4

Victtorino

3.00 Ascot

Win

2/1

Secret Squirrel

3.35 Ascot

Win

7/1

Fiercely Proud

3.35 Ascot

EW 4 Places 1/5

12/1

14.05 Haydock – Handicap Chase – 3m 1½f

Hard to get beyond last years winner FAMOUS BRIDGE being just 2lbs higher and holding a Haydock record of 1, 1, UR. That unseat was just under a mile out so impossible to say where he’d have come but he was loving life up to then.

He was 4^th in The Ultima at Cheltenham behind Chianti Classico which was a fine enough result but on RPR’s, below the level of effort he’d shown early in the season. Came back with a run at Kelso this season in October with a much more realistic RPR of 139 and I think he’s been aimed at this race. While he usually has had two runs by this time now, he’s won second time up in both winter campaigns and the testing conditions at the track will suit.

FAMOUS BRIDGE – 2.5 STAR WIN @ 11/4

14.25 Ascot – Long Walk Hurdle – 3m ½f

STRONG LEADER has little to prove anymore, having run a blinder in the Cleeve Hurdle last season before going to take the Aintree 3m Grade 1 and then last months Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle in Newbury. Ran well enough here over the middle trip to suggest the track will be fine and even on what he’s done to date it might be enough, although I think this will demand more.

I expect STRONG LEADER to be able to grind this out and I think the ground will be more suitable than last time and the more of a stamina test this turns into the more it will suit him. The long home straight here has seen many a tussle from a long way out and I think that is ideal for him as he looks a dour stayer.

STRONG LEADER – 1.5 STAR WIN @ 7/4

15.00 Ascot – Handicap Chase – 3m

VICTTORINO has his last two runs in defeat and both left-handed but he came from nowhere to finish third in the Coral Gold Cup and remains on an untouched mark which might just be generous. He’s a two-time winner at this track and while he was 4^th behind Threeunderthrufive earlier this year, he gets a weight swing which would reverse than form.

Annsam, Mister Malarkey and Regal Encore all came from Newbury last time out to take this in the 3 running’s prior to VICTTORINO landing this 12 months ago. Even further back Gold Present and Regal Encore (again) ran in the Hennesy and Venetia Williams ran Houblon De Obeaux in the Hennessy before winning this in 2013. This is a route often used to success in the race and it’s adds further weight to the argument that VICTTORINO can win this race again having won last year as a 5yo carrying 12 stone and off only a 1lb lower mark.

VICTTORINO – 2 STAR WIN @ 2/1

15.35 Ascot – Handicap Hurdle – 1m 7½f

This is some race and easily as good at 12 months ago when Luccia took this for Nicky Henderson. She came from the Greatwood finishing 3^rd, Tritonic came from the Greatwood finishing 5^th, Mohayaad came from the Greatwood finishing 7^th, Brain Power ran in the Greatwood finishing 8^th.

That brings in Be Aware, Dysart Enos, Go Dante and FIERCELY PROUD but of those I think that FIERECELY PROUD is the one to side with. At the start of the season where he was hammered in the betting but lost his jockey going to post in a prep run for the Greatwood. They then had a quick enough turn around in Ascot where he was sent off 7/2 joint favourite with Secret Squirrel and fell 2 out when running not far off that horse. Then just 15 days later was in the Greatwood where he was travelling away from but behind Be Aware throughout. However, he raced on the inside for the latter stages of the race where the only couple near him who did the same Under Control who pulled up and Black Poppy who tailed off. There was a little bit of money for him but he was still sent off at 16/1 that day, but he’s been dropped for that effort while the likes of Be Aware and Dysart Enos have rightly been raised. Kielan Woods gets the ride again having won both his first two starts aboard him then was beaten just under 9 lengths in Sandown when giving 6lbs to Be Aware who beat him by 8 lengths, giving Secret Squirell 4lbs who beat him by 1 and a half and Steel Ally was giving him a 1lb and was 7 in front of him. With all that said he now has a 15lb swing with Be Aware, a 2lb swing with Secret Squirrel and a 16lb swing with Steel Ally.

I’d also say that the Greatwood just had to be forgotten this season and while they still ran I think it was a means to prep for this race instead. I’ve talked about the list of winners of this race who were down the field in Greatwoods and of those 4 it was only Luccia who had placed. He is of course a bit of risk being a free going horse and having unseated this season here at this track, but his trainer says he’s better right-handed, and I think he’s just as well handicapped as he was at the start of the season, like his trainer suggested, but given that things didn’t quite work out for Plan A, he’s effectively ever better handicapped with some of those mentioned before who have had things go to plan and have risen in the weights as a result.

I’ll also take a win dart on SECRET SQUIRREL who has a 2lb harder task than in the Sandown race mentioned earlier from last season, but was on top of Fiercely Proud when they met here last month. Has won on Good ground through to Soft ground and his trainer took this twice with Not So Sleepy. He’s at least as good as the end of last season so his mark of 126 looks one he can win races off and it may be that others have shown their hand in winning or running well in big handicaps already this season so he appeals at his current price for cover.

SECRET SQUIRREL – 1 STAR WIN @ 7/1

FIERCELY PROUD – 1 STAR EW @ 12/1 (4 PLACES)