ITV Racing Tips: Saturday Each-Way Double for Kempton

Just the seven runners for this competitive handicap event but bet365, William Hill, Coral and Betfred are all paying three places, which is what I advise to take, and I like the claims of KITTY’S LIGHT (best price 12/1), who is no doubt the well-handicapped horse in the race and has a chance of beating these if able to rediscover his best form.

He has yet to fire in four runs this term and was never able to get involved when only midfield over course-and-distance just over two weeks ago when 7th of 14 but last season he made the frame in three Grade 3 events during the spring off higher marks.

He was 2nd over course-and-distance last February off a mark of 140 when only finding his stablemate Cap Du Nord too good, who was in receipt of a lot of weight. In that race he had Enrilo back in 4th and meets that rival on similar terms here, so it’s a little surprising to see this seven-year-old nearly double his odds.

He then ran a great race when 2nd in the Scottish Grand National off a mark of 143, where again, he found another stablemate too strong in the shape of Win My Wings before finishing third in the bet365 Gold Cup off 145 behind leading Gold Cup contender Hewick.

I know he has yet to hit the ground running this term but the assessor has relinquished his grip on the handicap marks and reduced him another 2 pounds to 135. He has not been on this mark since winning on his handicap/chase debut at Kelso, so he is very well-treated here.

All of his best form has been on a sounder surface but he is Christian Williams' only runner on the card and Jack Tudor’s only ride on the card as well, so the confidence in his chances have certainly increased on that basis. A lot of these are handicapped to the hilt, so he appeals most at the odds.

The Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle is never the easiest of races to solve but the market has underestimated the chances of the Colin Tizzard-trained SCARFACE (best price 20/1) who sneaks into this off a low-weight from a handicap debut mark that looks well within his compass.

This six-year-old has only been out of the frame once in all five starts over hurdles and that was when a well beaten 7th in the Ballymore Novices Hurdle at last season’s Cheltenham Festival behind Sir Gerhard.

He has form on soft ground, so conditions shouldn’t pose an issue and an opening mark of 126 makes him well-handicapped if you take into consideration his excellent second to Skytastic at Ascot, where he should have won. He travelled best that day but was probably asked for his effort later than ideal.

Nevertheless, the fact that connections even supplemented him for the Ballymore next time indicates he is held in some regard, and since that effort, he’s won twice on the bounce. He made the most of a straightforward task at Plumpton, winning by 16 lengths and then toughed it out at Ascot when last spotted in what practically turned into a match-race.

He would have won easier than the 1/2 length winning margin without being clumsy at the final hurdle, so his performance can be marked up to some extent. He will do well to execute a winning front-running performance in this field but given the statistics and trends, he could easily outrun his double-figure odds with 5 places generally available.

Kitty’s Light & Scarface  0.5 pts - E/W double