Saturday ITV Racing Tips & Preview

Connections of MUTAAQEB (Best price 11-2) have made a bold decision plunging their once-raced son of Invincible Spirit into a contest of this level on the back of a hard-fought Yarmouth win. Normally, that move can backfire with a lack of experience the primary reason, but the selection displayed plenty of attributes when scoring on his initial outing and he should have learned a great deal from the experience. Raw and backward but still well backed, Mutaaqeb clocked a smart time by the seaside and can hopefully retain his unbeaten record here.

Trying to oppose Aidan O’Brien in Group One juvenile events this season is akin to pushing sand up a hill but VERBAL DEXTERITY (Best price 9-2) appears to have the attributes required to trouble the Ballydoyle quartet here. Saxon Warrior, The Pentagon and Seahenge form a formidable challenge as O’Brien searches for his history-breaking 26th Group One victory and the chances are the trio, along with outsider Coat Of Arms, will control the race and deliver another big-race success for their maestro. However, I have been mightily impressed with Verbal Dexterity this term and his powerful victory in the National Stakes signalled he remains a colt of immense potential, especially now he tackles a mile for the first time.   

Tipping a 10-year-old to win a sprint he has already been beaten in a number of times may not appear the wisest strategy, but CONFESSIONAL (Best price 20-1) was only a length behind the winner 12 months ago and looks a value each-way play. Likely favourite Spring Loaded saves some of his best efforts for Town Moor, but the drop to today’s trip may not represent enough of a test and the veteran selection may outrun his odds and go well for each-way players. The torch appeared to burn as bright as ever at Catterick last weekend and Tim Easterby’s veteran was also just half a length in arrears of Boundsy when they met at Haydock last month and is likely to be a vastly bigger price today.

Given she has been sidelined with ‘pelvic issues’, it would be a surprise if MOUNTAIN BELL (Best price 11-1) wasn’t fit enough to do herself justice on her return to action today, especially as this race looks as though it may have been a long-term target for last year’s runner-up. The selection has proved herself capable of mixing it at this level and boasts a great record fresh with two of her career wins recorded after 189 and 126 absences. Mountain Bell would surely have been sent to the paddocks if she hadn’t been showing the right signs at home and she could be the chief threat to clear form pick Frontiersman who is a tough horse to read.  

NEBO (Best price 10-3) has produced two of his best performances at today’s venue and could be the one to side with now he returns to seven furlongs at his favourite track. The selection has only tackled this trip once in a seven-race career when touched off by Gustav Klimt in the Superlative Stakes on Newmarket’s July Course. The track and trip appeared to stretch him a little that day, but back on a flat terrain he could prove the answer to a race where his class should shine through. The selection won at today’s track on debut and also ran a blinder in the Mill Reef (6f) here earlier in the season when Breeders’ Cup aspirant James Garfield was a length too strong so looks the answer. 

Agonisingly beaten at the festival by Un Temps Pour Tout in a typically competitive course and distance handicap, conditions should be perfect for SINGLEFARMPAYMENT (Best price 9-2) to gain some compensation on his seasonal bow. The track figures recorded by the selection read 11B2 and, although he has no great record fresh, his performances on his return have been good enough to suggest he can take a hand here. His ability to travel strongly off a strong pace should stand Tom George’s gelding in good stead and he looks capable of leaving his revised mark behind this term. 

BEDROCK (Best price 4-5) was only six lengths in arrears of the smart Triumph Hurdle winner Defi Du Seuil in an Aintree Grade One in the spring and looks a novice to keep onside this season. The selection made a smart return to action at Bangor, albeit as a heavy favourite, where he confirmed his well being with a non-nonsense performance to complete a routine victory. Twobeelucky is the possible pace angle as he was aggressively ridden at Galway in the summer before the talented Le Richebourg swept passed him late on and it could be a case of the same here with the Dan Skelton team in good heart courtesy of an impressive success yesterday. 

There was little doubt DOUBLE W’S (Best price 11-2) looked like he drastically needed his comeback at Kelso but, with that run under his belt, he could be the answer to this tricky puzzle. Connections tried the selection in the novices’ handicap chase at the Festival last March but, after travelling well, he was found to have a lack of stamina at two-and-a-half miles in a championship race. However, he remains of interest back at this venue on decent ground if he can reproduce the level of his Aintree handicap win last April when smoothly landing a competitive renewal of the Red Rum Handicap. 

Thomas Campbell will be fancied by many to lift this event and it’s hard to knock his chance off a feasible mark in a race where one or two of his rivals maybe ridden with a view to the future given it is a qualifier for the final in March. It could be that Nicky Henderson’s hurdler is well ahead of the assessor, but that comment could also apply to STICK TO THE PLAN (Best price 8-1) who should have won a Southwell hurdle last time, but his rider fell off late in the peace. That misfortune aside, he looks a progressive type who would need to win a race of this nature and possibly one more to qualify for the final of this series in March. There is a chance he may not be experienced enough in the jumping sphere to land a race of this nature but the ground and trip hold no terrors and he gets the vote.