UK Horse Racing Tips

The £10 Free at 32Red.com Handicap (5.45) at Wolverhampton is only a 0-60 contest, but features lesser lights from some leading yards and may prove quite competitive. The likes of David Evans, Richard Fahey and William Haggas all feature highly on the leaderboard for the All-weather Championship, but the one that takes our eye on this occasion is Dalalah, trained by Richard Guest.

The Exceed And Excel filly has yet to trouble the judge in five starts, but caught the eye when a fast-finishing seventh of 13, beaten 2¾ lengths, behind Hold On Magnolia over 6 furlongs at the West Midlands track 17 days and should appreciate stepping back up in distance. That was her first run for the West Yorkshire trainer, and her first since September, so she may be open to some improvement and has been dropped 2lb in the weights in the meantime.

She’s probably not one to go overboard about, but she showed definite signs of promise last time and can put her previous experience of the Tapeta surface to good use.

Selection: Wolverhampton 5.45 Dalalah to win

The MITIE Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle (3.05) at Ascot on Friday looks competitive to start with and could turn into a slog, so a ‘shock’ result doesn’t look entirely out of the question.

Knight Of Pleasure hasn’t won for two years and is clearly a difficult horse to catch right, but Gary Moore has been in decent form in recent weeks and the 6-year-old is well handicapped on his best form. The Exit To Nowhere gelding has been put back over hurdles after and an unsuccessful spell over fences last season and is, in fact, 3lb lower in the weights than his last winning mark. He has his stamina to prove over 2 miles 5½ furlongs, but both his career wins came on heavy going, so he won’t mind any rain that falls in Berkshire and George Gorman takes off a useful 8lb.

Vale of Glamorgan trainer Evan Williams has also been among the winners of late and his 8-year-old Lava Lamp wouldn’t be without a chance if able to recapture his best form. The Sharmadal gelding remains 4lb higher in the weights than when winning a similar race, over 2 miles 2½ furlongs, at Newton Abbot in the summer but, by virtue of riding for his own stable, Cian Maher can claim 10lb. Lava Lamp has plenty of winning form on soft going, including over 2 miles 6 furlongs, so could go well at a nice price.

Selections: Ascot 3.05 Knight Of Pleasure, Lava Lamp

The CF Roberts Electrical + Mechanical Services Handicap Hurdle (1.10) at Cheltenham on Friday is the most competitive race on the card, numerically, and should give us a decent chance of unearthing a winner at rewarding odds.

The one that takes our eye is Cappielow Park, who hasn’t run over hurdles since March, but had a pipe opener on the all-weather at Kempton nine days ago and still looks reasonably handicapped on his best form. The Exceed And Excel gelding appeared to improve for the switch to Ali Stronge two seasons ago and is only 3lb higher in the weights than when winning a 0-130 novices’ handicap hurdle at Wincanton in February.

It’s interesting to note that recent Racing Post Henry VIII Novices’ Chase winner, Ar Mad, could only finish fourth in that contest and, having won twice on heavy going, Cappielow Park won’t care how much rain falls on Prestbury Park. Ali Stronge has only saddled one runner, without success, during the last five seasons, but the 6-year-old appears to have plenty going for him and might just slip in under the radar.

Selection: Cheltenham 1.10 Cappielow Park to win

By Harvey Mayson

The Grade 1 King George VI Chase is one of the top races of the National Hunt season and is the highlight of the Christmas meeting at Kempton Park.

The race is held on Boxing Day each year and is second only to the Cheltenham Gold Cup in terms of prestige. The race will forever be associated with two of the leading steeplechasers of all time in Desert Orchid and Kauto Star. The flying grey won the race four times between 1986 and 1990 but was surpassed by Kauto Star’s five victories between 2006 and 2011.

Trainer Paul Nicholls won the race for the ninth time when Silviniaco Conti recorded his second successive King George success 12 months’ ago.

Don Cossack is the early market leader for Gordon Elliott following an impressive reappearance at Down Royal in October. The eight-year-old easily accounted for his three rivals in the Grade 1 Champion Chase.

The son of Sholokhov was third in the Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham festival before romping to a 26-lengths win at Aintree. That remarkable victory over Cue Card was followed by beating Gold Cup runner-up Djakadam by seven lengths at Punchestown and the King George looks the obvious target.

Vautour did not impress everyone when beating Ptit Zig in receipt of 5lbs at Ascot in November. The Willie Mullins-trained gelding only had a length and a quarter to spare but jockey Ruby Walsh was delighted with the performance. He felt that the horse was some way short of his peak and is expecting a big improvement at Kempton. Vautour is yet to race at three miles but this flat track should give him every chance of lasting home.

Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Coneygree needs to be supplemented for the race after an apparent computer glitch prevented his entry from going through. He looked good on his first run of the season but missed the Hennessy Gold Cup after losing a shoe in training. Several bookmakers are offering a special “with a run” price for Mark Bradstock’s gelding.

Cue Card looked right back to his best when winning the Betfair Chase at Haydock following a successful breathing operation. Jockey Paddy Brennan could scarcely believe how easily he beat Silviniaco Conti that day, saying that he felt as though he had 20lbs in hand. Cue Card was runner-up in this race in 2013 but faded to finish fifth last season. He is still only nine years of age and trainer Colin Tizzard has already confirmed him a definite starter at Kempton.

Silviniaco Conti is likely to be fitted with blinkers after his disappointing defeat at Haydock. He cannot be ruled out as he was only third at Haydock before winning his first King George in 2013. Former stable companion Al Ferof has finished third in the race for the past two seasons and made a winning start for Dan Skelton in the Peterborough Chase at Huntingdon.

Hennessy Gold Cup winner Smad Place is still a possible runner, although Alan King is thought to be favouring the Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham as his next target. The race is due off at 3.10 on Saturday 26th December and will be televised live on Channel 4.