Saturday’s race card is typically action packed with meetings across the UK and Ireland at Ascot, Chester, Lingfield, Newcastle, Salisbury, York and Gowran Park offering punters a chance to kickstart their weekend in style. Yesterday, our 16/1 tip, Iris Dancer, placed at York, while another of our three selections delivered a winner thanks to Solar Drive’s success at Cork. View our latest horse racing betting tips for today’s action below.
Best Tip #1: Vivienda – Gowran Park, 16:30
Vivienda saw off some good competition to win an 18-horse race at Fairyhouse when last seen on what was her handicapping debut and the promising filly could pose a similar threat when moving up in distance today.
Ger Lyons’s charge looks like an improving type and though she has moved up 6lb in the rankings, Vivienda is still keenly priced on horse racing betting sites.
Elsewhere, Pink Socks could offer an alternative at a bigger price. She enjoyed a breakthrough victory over C&D at Gowran Park in early June and has been in solid form since. Returning to the scene of that triumph, the 5-year-old could be worth tracking over the same trip.
Mrs J Harrington’s Raknah is another who should be suited by this 1m flat distance.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 9/4 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 9/4 |
| Fitzdares | 9/4 |
Best Tip #2: Dancingwithmyself – Salisbury, 20:30
Dancingwithmyself looked well-suited to a distance of 1m2f when winning with room to spare at Ripon on June 19th and she shaped up like a horse with the potential to stay on.
Today’s slightly longer trip at Salisbury could offer the 3-year-old a chance to showcase her stamina and having moved up just 4lb since her win last month, she is taken to set the standard.
Calvert is another player with decent credentials. He finished his campaign as a 2-year-old with a win at Bath last October and despite racing just twice this year so far, he delivered a solid performance to finish third at Goodwood when last seen in June.
He runs off a 2lb lower mark here and has the potential to produce another good effort.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 9/4 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 9/4 |
| Fitzdares | 9/4 |
Best Roughie: Mereside Madness – York, 17:40
The last race of the day at York is shaping up to be an open affair, however, we’re giving the nod to Mereside Madness on this occasion.
The 3-year-old has finished in the first three places in each of his last five races and that haul included back-to-back wins at Newcastle in January and February. He returned to turf to finish second at Ayr last month, and he could deliver for TD Barron here.
PJ McBride’s Scarlet Lady is sitting at an even meatier price on betting apps in the ante-post running meanwhile, and could be a solid each-way punt. She finished second in two of her last three races over similar trips and a similar effort could put her in the frame here.
Marmaduke Lemon, whose best run this year was to second at Doncaster in late June, is another name for shortlists.
| Bookmaker | Odds |
| Betzone UK | 9/4 |
| Planet Sport Bet | 9/4 |
| Fitzdares | 9/4 |
Stats and Insights
- The track at Gowran Park is galloping in nature and conditions can be testing there due to the unpredictable weather in Kilkenny. Jockeys Colin Keane, Ben Coen, Shane Foley, WJ Lee and Seamie Heffernan have all won plenty of races at Gowran Park over the last five seasons. All five are riding at today’s meeting.
- The short race track at Salisbury is mainly uphill and horses without the required stamina can struggle to compete. Trainers Richard Hannon, Ralph Beckett, Andrew Balding, Clive Cox and Roger Varian are the names to look out for during the flat season at Salisbury.
- The circuit at York is another course for the galloping types due to the wide bends and long run-in to the finish. William Haggas has won more often than any other trainer at York over the last five seasons. Andrew Balding has also had a good win rate (15%) there over the same period.
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